Desperate Measures
by preta-me
Summary: DISCONTINUED, UP FOR ADOPTION.
1. Extremist Qualities

No one could believe what the masked man had just said. The five Kage were frozen in place while their brains processed what had just begun. Madara Uchiha had just declared war on the Five Great Nations.

"What the hell is going on?" Yelled the Raikage. "My brother's still alive? How dare he disobey my orders for him to stay in the village! He's going to get my Iron Claw!"

"Calm yourself Raikage. Now is no time to let our emotions get the best of us," said the old, wise Onoki.

"He's right," said the young, red headed Kazekage. "Madara wants to take advantage of our separation. If we stay divided against each other, we have no chance of winning this thing. Now is the best time for an alliance now that we all have a common enemy."

"Well said young man," said Mei, the Mizukage. "We also have to remember that he can't win this war without the jinchūriki. We have to keep them out of the Akatsuki's reach."

* * *

The Kage organized an army, the Shinobi Alliance, filled with shinobi and samurai. Madara, not to be easily outdone, had created an army of his own. It consisted of multitudes of white Zetsu clones and resurrected shinobi courtesy of Kabuto.

The island the Raikage had arranged for Naruto and B had not worked out how he planned. Naruto and B managed to escape and join the battle against the Akatsuki.

* * *

Allied Shinobi HQ

* * *

"There's no way we could do something that cruel to them!" yelled Tsunade.

"To hell with you and your ideas! There's no way I would toss my brother aside like trash!" said the Raikage angrily.

"It's the only way to guarantee a victory in this war," replied Shikaku.

"Madara needs them to complete his Moon's Eye Plan. This would make it absolutely impossible for him to resurrect the Juubi," added Mabui.

Tsunade and A both thought hard for a few seconds. "How can we be so sure that there aren't any other options? Can't we win this war without such an extreme last resort?"

"We could, but the casualties would be enormous. Our nations would be weakened greatly by a long lasting war with the Akatsuki that we aren't sure we can win. By guaranteeing a victory, we can focus our full military strength on defeating Madara, instead of having to divide our attention between protecting Naruto and B and holding back the Zetsu army."

After long deliberation, they put this mysterious plan into action. The other Kage had no say in whether this plan was something that should be done since the remaining jinchuuriki didn't belong to their villages, so Tsunade and A acted completely on their own. "It hasn't been long since they escapes the island," said Mabui. "We could intercept them before they make it to any of the battlefields. We'll execute the plan then. Remember, all you have to do is call out to them. If they respond, the technique will work."

Tsunade and A left HQ in pursuit of Naruto and B. They simply followed the two large Chakra signatures. Just about everyone could feel them, so they were lucky that Madara hadn't went after them first. "I see them!" yelled Tsunade. "Hurry, we have to catch up!"

* * *

Naruto was more determined than he'd ever been. He would, with his new power, end the war and defeat Madara. As he and B ran, their path was cut off by two familiar figures. the male figure they recognized as A opened a scroll and summoned a large gourd. 'So this is their plan,' B thought, recognizing the gourd as the Amber Purifying Pot. 'It would be an instant win against the Akatsuki thanks to the sacrifice of two people who happen to be me and Naruto.'

"Naruto, B!" yelled Tsunade and A simultaneously. Being the only person who was ignorant of the functions of the gourd, Naruto was quick to respond.

"What now? You comin' to stop us?"

Tsunade answered back with similar quickness. "This is a war to protect you two. We can't let you go any further."

"B! B! B, answer me! This is the best option for everyone. Just respond!" His brother's voice rang through his head. He shut out the noise and considered the previous statement.

He couldn't deny that it would render Madara's plans useless. He decided to obey his brothers plea. "Yo, Big Bro. So this is it then, huh?"

"What do you mean? Naruto questioned. "We aren't just gonna stop here. We have to help in the fight against Madara! Sorry Granny Tsunade, but we're going no matter what you say." He was about to dash away but was speed by B's hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, it's already done. It had been ever since we answered their call."

"He's right Naruto. This isn't a normal gourd. We are going to use it to seal you two away. This is the only sure fire way to keep Madara from resurrecting the Juubi," Tsunade explained.

"And you expect me to just accept an eternity in a void?"

"It doesn't matter. Like B said, it's already done," said A. "Of course the idea is extreme, and the decision wasn't easy for us. B is my brother. Only a heartless person could make this decision easily."

"You both have people that love you," said Tsunade, "and they will all miss you. By sealing you away, we can guarantee that you lived ones won't be put asleep by Madara's genjutsu. As soon as A opens the gourd, you two will be taped inside it forever. We are sorry it has to be this way, but you're sacrifice won't be in vain. You two will be the reason the world is not under Madara's control."

Naruto sighed and looked at the ground in sadness. This was a lot to take in. He was slightly angry that he wouldn't get to test his new powers on Madara's face, but what hurt him deep inside was that he wouldn't see his friends anymore. He would miss everyone from the ones that lived and cared for him to the ones that despised him for being the "fox kid." "Granny Tsunade," he said suddenly. "Let everyone know that I love them and that no matter what, I'll never forget what they've done for me throughout my life. Whether they hated me or loved me, I'll remember it forever, because it made me who I am today, and I thank them for that. B? Do you have anything to say before we do this?" Naruto asked. B grinned.

"Nope. What you just said completely covers whatever I might have said. Big Bro, you can seal us now. We're ready." Naruto and Tsunade shared a final hug, Naruto, A, and B shared first bumps. As they opened the gourd, Naruto and B were whisked into it. Tsunade and A, with tears in their eyes, closed the lid. To ensure that Madara couldn't get a hold of their powers, they destroyed the gourd, essentially making it impossible to ever reach them again.

* * *

In a Strange Place

* * *

Naruto and B fell through the gourd's opening, and saw the lid close. Where they currently were was beyond anything they could have imagined. There were large orbs of light floating around them at various distances and speeds. There were no words to describe the beauty of it all. 'So this is what heaven looks like?' they thought.

"This can't be heaven since we aren't technically dead," B said. "And these orbs are somehow different from each other." Naruto simply nodded in understanding. Upon closer inspection of these orbs, he could clearly see that each one looked like a small world. They definitely weren't planets. They acted almost like windows, letting them see the world that that orb represented. Some looked barren, others lush, some very strange. Some showed people. So far, Naruto had seen two flying blond guys fighting and a spiky haired kid in short green shorts.

"Could we be between universes or something?" He was greeted with silence. He looked around for B and saw that they had drifted apart. B had just noticed it too.

"Don't use your Chakra to grab onto me, Naruto. If you make a mistake, you could touch one of the orbs, and we don't know what could happen."

"Then what should we do?" His question would go unanswered. At that moment, B's body hit an orb, and he disappeared into it. Naruto yelled out to B before giving up. He knew that his efforts were futile. B was in a totally different place now. He floated there for a few minutes until he also collided with an orb. The collision wasn't painful, but as he was swallowed into it, he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Ugh. What the heck just happened," Naruto groaned. He sat up from where he was and yawned. Wait. Where was he? He opened his eyes and saw absolutely nothing. "Oh my god. Am I blind? Say it ain't so!" He frantically patted his face when he felt something on his face. "What the he-? Oh. It's just my headband. Hehe. Silly me." He readjusted his headband took in his surroundings.

He found himself on a bed in a small room. He still couldn't see much due to the darkness in the room. He stood and felt the walls until he found a light switch. The light revealed plain walls with a few pictures hanging up, a curtained window, and a dresser with a mirror built in. He gazed at his reflection and noticed something peeking from under his shirt sleeve. 'I must've gotten hurt somehow. Whoever found me even bandaged me up.' He walked toward the bedroom door when it opened. A woman peered in and grinned at him. "You're finally up! I heard you shuffling around in here so I came to check on you. Come to the kitchen. Dinner is ready. I'll explain everything."

The woman walked away before Naruto had a chance to say anything. She left him with two options: go eat dinner or go eat dinner. He didn't need to think long. His growling stomach lead him through the house into the kitchen where the aroma of a home cooked meal filled his senses. "Hurry and sit. Your plate is already set." Naruto looked toward where his plate was waiting for him. What he didn't expect to see was other people waiting for him. They all looked at him, their eyes taking in his appearance.

'I'll need to take a seat if I'm gonna find out anything about how I got here.' He took a seat at the table next to a young boy. It was awkwardly quiet at the table. the woman was the first to speak. "I'm Vera. The boy next to you is my little brother Darius. These two next to me ate my brother and sister, Clara and Antonio."

"Hello," they all said in a quiet tone. That was understandable, since a mysterious young man was sitting at their dinner table. Naruto observed their features in detail for the first time. Vera was definitely the oldest. She must've been in her early 20s. The boy named Darius looked to be about 10 years old. Clara and Antonio seemed the closest to Naruto's age. He looked at them and introduced himself the best way he knew how. "Hello. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm 16 years old. My likes are ramen and the color orange." He decided to be vague about it until he found out more about them. No need to spoil the beans in his life story.

"It's nice to meet you Naruto. In regards to how you got here, our father found you on the side of the road on his way out for a job. He brought you here and told us to take care of you. He'll be returning tomorrow."

"You say that he brought me here. Where exactly is here? How long was I out?"

"It's been 2 days since you got here," replied Antonio. "There's no telling how long you might have been laying out by that road. And you're currently in our house on the edge of Crocus."

'What the heck is a Crocus?' Naruto's face gave away that he'd never heard of that place. "Heh. I don't recognize that city. I'm not from around here, you see? Have any of you ever heard of the 5 Great Nations?"

The others people at the table thought for a moment. "Nope. Sorry. I guess wherever you're from is really far away," said Clara.

Naruto was silent for a moment. He wondered if he really was in a different world. "You're right. It's farther than you'd ever imagine. Well, thanks for the food. I'm gonna go get ready for bed. Goodnight." He found his way back into the bedroom and closed the door. He slid onto the bed and spread across it when he heard a knock on the door.

"Um, Naruto? If you need anything you can just let us know. We're happy to help," said Clara through the door.

"I'm fine right now. Thanks," he replied. Such nice, generous people. They are so quick to take him in and nurse him back to health. He would have to repay them somehow in the future.

Lacking the energy to do much else, he laid still and eventually dozed off. He woke up in the sewer that made up his mind scape when a deep voice spike to him.** 'So you finally come to visit me, eh, Naruto?'**


	2. Survive the Fiery Battle!

**AN: Thank you so much for the support on my first chapter. This is my first story, so bear with me. I'm trying my best to not follow the overused trends with Naruto/Fairy Tail crossovers. Review my story and let me know how I'm doing!**

* * *

**"So you finally came down here, brat?"** asked the Kyuubi.

"Honestly, no. But since I'm down here, I guess we could talk. Do you understand anything about how we got here?"

**"What makes you think I owe you any portion of my infinite knowledge?"**

"Maybe because I let us get sealed away? Don't tell me you'd rather be under Madara's control!"

**"Hm. You make a valid point, human. Very well. I'll tell you everything I know."**

"OK then. Out with it."

**"..."**

"You don't know anything, do you, Kurama?"

**"How do you expect me too know more than you know. I may be a tailed beast, but that doesn't mean I'm well versed in dimensional travel. You humans always kept me locked in somebody's stomach anyway. Blame your race for our collective ignorance."**

Naruto couldn't argue with his logic. They were both stuck in this unfamiliar _situation_. "So what do you think we should do?"

**"I think you should use your brain for once and not rely on me so much. I've told you what I know, but you're the one who has the power to take action. Now get out. I want to sleep,"** Kurama said, closing his eyes.

* * *

Naruto woke up that morning in the guest bedroom he had been borrowing. 'I need to find out about this place.' He went downstairs to find a man sitting in a chair.

"Good morning, lad. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you're Naruto. I'm Martin. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Thank you for taking me here. Who knows what could have happened to me if you'd left me out there."

"Oh, don't mention it!" He stood up and patted Naruto on the back. "It's what anyone would have done. Is there anything you need, seeing as you're up so early?"

"Actually yes. Could you explain to me exactly where we are right now?"

"We are on the outskirts of Crocus, the capital city of the kingdom of Fiore."

Naruto thought for a moment. He was sure that he'd never heard those names before. "Do you know where we are in relation to the Elemental Nations? I'm trying to find my way back."

The confused look on Martin's face wasn't what Naruto wanted to see. "Sorry, but I've been around in my years, and never have I ever heard of that place." Naruto was sure of it now. He was really in another universe. He took a deep breath and thought of what to say next.

"I see." He was at a loss for words now that the bombshell had dropped. He'd never see his loved ones again. Emotions almost poured out of him until he _remembered_ where he was and got it in check. 'What would Kakashi-sensei do?' He mentally picture his old sensei lecturing him.

_"Assess the situation. _Learn_ about your surroundings and stay calm."_

'Thanks sensei,' Naruto thought. Naruto put his sadness aside and got down to business. "So, Martin, how does a young guy make money around here?"

Martin grinned. "There's plenty of opportunities for an able bodied young man like yourself! Apply for a job somewhere, freelance work. You could work for a guild as a mage or do some alternate work for them. At your age, your opportunities stretch past the clouds!"

Naruto didn't know what the hell a mage or guild was, but he had no obligations in this world. He had all the time to find out everything he needed. Naruto stood up with resolve in his eyes. "Martin, I'm leaving. I need to get out there and find myself. I cannot thank you enough for taking me in. I promise to pay you back someday. I don't forget. That's my ninja way!" Naruto ran upstairs, grabbed his shoes and was out the door. It was his first time out of that house since he'd came to. He felt like life was about to change. Whether the change was good or bad, he was excited for it. 'This must be what youth feels like,' he thought, remembering Gai-sensei and Lee.

Naruto ran straight towards the city. What he saw was a totally new experience. The streets were filled with people, smells, and noises. Naruto didn't know where to begin. There was so much going on at once. He chose this time to duck into an alley and create a few clones. They transformed into random passerbys and went around into different stores.

* * *

Naruto's clones were a priceless asset when it came to info gathering. After a half an hour, he had already had a basic idea of guilds and mages. Mages were people who used magic. They worked hand in hand with guilds. They functioned a lot like villages. Jobs, or missions were taken by the mages, and they get paid when the job is completed.

He'd heard of some popular guilds that he could join, but he didn't know where any of them were located, and he still didn't have money to buy a map or even food for tonight.

'How did I forget that I'd need food?' His excitement earlier had completely erased his common sense. 'I need to make some money quick or I'll be going hungry tonight.'

He looked around the immediate area and saw a sign that said 'help needed.'

'Perfect timing,' he thought. He walked into the bar where the sign wad patted and immediately garnered the attention of some people there. 'Of course they'd stare. I'm wearing a bright orange jumpsuit.' He scanned the room and spotted the bartender. He walked over and asked, "Um, sir? I saw the sign outside. I'm in need of some quick cash. Are you guys hiring?"

The man nodded. "Yep. As a matter of fact, you can start now. See that like of dirty dishes in the sink? Go ahead and start washing."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at himself as he started washing. 'So this is where I end up? The saviour of the Leaf village is reduced to a mere dish washer. No way am I gonna settle for this. I just need the money for food tonight.'

Naruto washed the dishes, and when the money was made, he left that place. He had money for his meal and a little extra. After he ate, he realized that he'd be sleeping outside for a while. 'No problem for a top notch ninja like myself,' he thought. He found himself a comfortable roof and mimicked a certain cloud watchers position; before long, he was asleep.

* * *

Naruto awoke with a start. Some bird had decided that his face was a suitable perch. 'Damn bird.' Naruto stood up and stretched his sore back. 'How did Shikamaru do this so easily?' He stood and looked around.

The sun had just risen. He jumped off the building's roof and landed with a thump. If it wasn't so early in the morning, more people would have been around to give him weird looks. 'Whatever,' Naruto thought. 'I have a few "jewels" in my pocket. I'll go buy a map and plan my next course of action. I'll be dammed if I wash dirty dishes again.'

He wandered around until he found the store he was looking for. He bought a basic map of Fiore. It included the major cities and train routes. 'This should get the job done.' The blond teen looked at this city called Crocus one last time. He took in all is sights. The mountains surrounding it, the huge castle in th-, wait. How hadn't he noticed that before? 'Even in this world, I'm still my same old airheaded self,' he laughed inwardly.

He decided to go east towards the other cities in Fiore. There was bound to be some guilds there.

* * *

Trying to keep his course straight while navigating through mountains was difficult, but when you had Kyuubi Chakra Mode, running over mountains became light work. Despite his speed advantage, it took him 2 days to reach the edge of the mountain range. He couldn't just use the Chakra mode constantly, since the Kyuubi took some of his Chakra when he used it. When he wasn't using the cloak he was resting and foraging for something quick to eat.

At the end of the mountain range was a lake. He stood atop a high, steep cliff and looked out on the lake in front of him. He scanned the lake for anything that indicated civilization. What he saw near the southern shores of the lake definitely caught his attention.

'Is that... a walking building?' Whatever it was, it was massive. It looked like it had been attacking the city it was facing. He ran along the shoreline to get a better look at the strange structure. Naruto noticed that the thing seemed broken. It was damaged and clearly not functional. He continued down the shores of this lake and entered the city there.

After asking around, Naruto had gathered that there had been a guild war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail two weeks before. Just by the names, he assumed who the bad guys were in this situation. He made his way toward what he was told was the Fairy Tail guild building and saw that it had just been rebuilt. 'Those guys must've been serious about this fight to destroy each others guilds,' he thought.

Naruto walked into the newly built guild and looked around. 'All these people are mages? I wonder how strong they all are.' His thoughts were interrupted when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see a white haired girl with blue eyes.

"Hello there! I'm Mirajane! How can I help you?" Naruto didn't say anything for a moment. He wasn't ready for a conversion. It had been 2 days since he'd talked to someone, so he stuttered.

"I-I was wondering if I could, um, join this guild. Can I talk to your leader?" That was rough.

"Follow me. I'll bring you to our guild master." She smiled and led him through a door and into a small room with a desk. "Master, we have a visitor!"

"I see. I'm Makarov, Fairy Tail's guild master. how do you call yourself, young man?" This old man gave Naruto good vibes. They reminded him off the Third Hokage.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I would like to join your guild," he said with confidence. He wanted to make a good impression.

"Join my guild, you say?" The old man reached into a drawer and pulled out a stack of paper. "Fill out this application form. I need to know about you before I let you in. that's the only requirement."

Naruto nodded. As long as it wasn't a written test, he would be okay. He took the form and went to the common area and took a seat.

The form asked general questions like height, weight, birthday, age, and magic. For magic, he just put down clone and wind magic. Then he came to a difficult question. Place of birth. He left it blank.

Naruto reentered the office and gave Makarov his application. "You left place of birth blank. Is there a good reason for that?"

"Yes, but explaining it will take a while." Naruto's eyes turned serious. "I'm willing to tell you everything about me if you promise to keep it a secret. No one outside this room can hear about this unless I choose for them to know about me."

The guild master nodded. He sat and listened to Naruto tell his life story, not in complete detail, but the main events, starting from his birth, all the way up to his interdimensional voyage.

"That's quite the life you've lived in only 16 years, boy. That answers all my questions. As promised, you can join Fairy Tail. I'm glad you chose us. You may have lost contact with people you loved in your old world, and we don't know each other very well right now, but I honestly hope Fairy Tail becomes your new family."

"Your words mean more than you will ever know, old man. Thank you." They shook hands and Naruto left the office in search of Mirajane. He needed a guild stamp before he could do jobs.

* * *

"There you are," he said to the bar maid. "Could you give me my guild stamp? Makarov said you're the person who does that."

"Of course! Where do you want it and what color?"

Naruto thought for a moment before deciding. He chose the color red-orange to represent Kurama's fur. He almost chose red, but that was Kurama's hate painted his Chakra. Sure, Kurama had caused him pain in his life, but he wouldn't be who he was without him. The next question was where to put the stamp. He could choose a boring spot like the shoulder or chest, but that kind of thing seemed common. He wouldn't choose his stomach, because it would look weird when the seal appeared.

After a few more seconds, he'd finally decided to put the stamp on his right palm. That was the hand he must often used for the rasengan. That jutsu, just like the Kyuubi, was a family legacy. With this guild mark, he could pay tribute to both of them.

Mirajane stamped his palm and smiled before yelling, "Everyone come welcome the newest member of Fairy Tail!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and ran over, yelling and cheering. The mob grabbed Naruto and say him dorm at a table where he answered some general questions. They were most curious as to what magic he could use and how strong he was.

"I'm not the bragging type, but I'm pretty confident in my abilities," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe we should test your skills, then," said a female voice. the crowd opened up to reveal a brown haired woman in reddish pants and a blue bikini top. She approached Naruto slowly and elegantly. "For all we know, your just a weakling who can't handle a real battle. This is s major issue. We can't rely on a weakling to represent Fairy Tail proudly. You need to prove that your worthy of that mark on your hand."

Naruto didn't like her condescending tone. She had the nerve to call him, of all people, weak! "How do you think we should solve this issue then?" Naruto asked, standing up and looking down at her face. "If you want me to fight someone, I'll let you choose my opponent." Naruto grinned as the crowd's anticipation grew.

"You're a brave one, aren't you? Fine. Master Makarov will be the referee. I'll choose your opponent. He's really eager to beat you. He was on the verge of attacking you when you walked in." She brought her hand to her mouth and did a loud whistle. Suddenly, the doors opened, and a pink haired teen stood.

"Meet Natsu. Hell be the one to defeat you this evening," said Cana.

"HURRY UP AND FIGHT ME!" the boy screamed. This guy was full of energy. His stamina might be on a level comparable to Naruto's.

"Before we move this outside," Cana said, now standing on top of a table. "Everyone cast your bets. Minimum wager is 10,000 J." The crowd shuffled around, casting their bets. When they were done, only 4 people bet in favor of Naruto.

'At least I know they don't have faith in me.' He began following everyone out the doors and behind the guild building. the crowd circled around Naruto and Natsu awaiting the battle's start.

* * *

Makarov stood. "Do what ever you have to do to win as long as it doesn't endanger anyone's life or the new guild building." He stressed the second part of that statement. The council was already breathing down his neck because of damage caused by his guild. "Fighters, are you ready?" Naruto nodded and Natsu began cracking his knuckles. "Good. Ready? BEGIN!"

Natsu immediately went after Naruto with a haymaker of a punch. Naruto stepped just out of the boys reach, but the punches kept coming. He kept dodging Natsu's punches. Natsu suprised Naruto with a swift roundhouse kick. Naruto didn't have time to move out of the way, so he crossed his forearms to block. The pink haired teen's kick sent him skidding backwards a few feet.

The boys took a second to breath. Naruto didn't want to do anything flashy. He'd use techniques according to how strong his enemy was. He decided that he would go on the attack in their next exchange.

Natsu was tired of the games. "Why aren't you fighting back? Take this fight seriously!" he yelled angrily as flames encompassed his fists.

'He's really into this. Fine. I'll give him what he wants.' Naruto dashed at Natsu and sent a kick straight at his head. Natsu ducked the attack and was preparing to counter. What he didn't expect was for Naruto to immediately follow the first kick up with a second one. His best option was to block it. Naruto's shin connected with Natsu's blocking form, sending him off his feet momentarily. He did a flip in midair and landed up right.

'Damn his kick is strong. Guess I'll have to turn it up a few hundred degrees.' Natsu inhaled deeply. Naruto didn't understand what was happening until a wall of flames was huddling towards him. He pumped Chakra into his legs and jumped above the fire. He looked down and saw his clone get charred by the fire. "Gotcha!" Natsu yelled with a grin. Natsu hammered Naruto with a downwards kick. Naruto's impact with the earth was enough to leave an indentation on his body. 'I totally caught him off guard!' "Looks like I wi-" SMACK.

Naruto had unexpectedly bounced back from the impact with minimal damage. While Natsu celebrated his "victory," the blond dashed with unbelievable speed to Natsu and hit him so hard his own first was hurting.

Both of them were ready to end this fight. Just physical attacks wouldn't be enough, and they both knew it. This was a battle between two high level fighters. The felt each others feelings. There were no secrets when their fists were doing the talking.

'He's about to use his trump card,' they thought simultaneously.

Naruto created a clone and created a rasengan while Natsu's whole body became covered in flames. The battle would be decided here.

"FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN/RASENGAN"

The explosion that followed sent both combatants flying. Neither one moved.

The crowd was silent. They impatiently waited for movement. Suddenly, they got what they wanted. Naruto, with great effort, was able to stand up. Makarov then stood up for the guild to see. "The battle is over! The winner is Naruto!"

Of all the people who bet, only Cana, Makarov, a redhead, and a shirtless teen were happy with the battle's results. 'They must've been the people who bet in favor of me.' He hobbled over to them. "I think I deserve my cut," he said extending his hand.

"Well pay you inside the guild. You and Natsu need to get healed." They led him into the infirmary of the guild. He was placed on a bed next to Natsu's where he saw a blond girl and a blue cat. There was also the redhead, the shirtless guy, and a tall white haired man.

Mirajane and a small blue haired girl in an orange dress came in to treat their wounds. Now it seemed like everyone was in one place. Naruto sat quietly while Mirajane cleaned his wounds. Natsu had suddenly regained consciousness and jumped up screaming "FIGHT ME."

Everyone in the room laughed at Natsu's reaction when he heard that he lost. He wasn't sad at all. "I guess I'll just get stronger so I can win next time. Just you wait, Naruto!"

Naruto grinned at Natsu's fighting spirit. He could tell they'd get along well. He turned his attention to the rest of the people in the room. "I'm sure you all know that I just joined the guild, so, if I haven't already met you, could you introduce yourselves?"

It was his first day in Fairy Tail and he already had a lot of madness to remember. Life was looking up. He couldn't wait to see what would happen tomorrow.

* * *

**AN: There it is! I hope you enjoyed! Don't be afraid to leave a review, feedback is greatly appreciated. Also, if you enjoy dark Naruto fics, go check out YamiSaku's story, Higher Power!**


	3. Unforeseen Incident

**AN: Here we go again! I hope everyone's enjoying thus story as much as I am writing it!**

* * *

Naruto went sleep in that infirmary that night. After all, he was still homeless. He'd definitely have to work on that.

Naruto awoke with a small amount of soreness, but his wounds were healed. 'Do I thank Kurama of Mirajane? Eh, I'll thank both for good measure!'

**'I don't want your gratitude, brat.'** The fox's words pulled Naruto down into his mind scape. **"****The gratitude of a lowly human means nothing to me,"** he said, looking down at Naruto.

Naruto huffed. "What's up with the stinky attitude this morning? Can't we have a normal conversation where you don't insult my species?"

**"I'm done talking to you. Run along, boy."**

"You may be done talking, but I'm not," Naruto said as he jumped up onto the fox's snout. They were looking eye to eye. "I don't know where your distaste for me comes from, but I don't care. It ends now. Whatever happened in your past is over."

**"You fool! It isn't over! I'm still imprisoned in a humans body like I have been for centuries! You don't know me!"** Kurama was livid.

"Well, since you've been in my body since birth, you damn sure know me! You had to have seen all the discrimination and pure hatred I dealt with in my childhood! Despite that, I have yet to blame you for it!" the Kyuubi's eyes became less angry hearing this. "I've never ever blamed you for all the sadness and loneliness, so you have no right to blame me for your current situation when I never asked for it to be this way!"

Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself. "If it was up to me, you'd be free to roam the world like you deserve. Then I could have had a happier childhood where my parents didn't die. But to be honest, that would be a cop out. That would be the same Naruto standing here. I wouldn't trade my life for better circumstances. Kyuubi, in the end, we're all we've got left from our home world. Is there really any logic in hating the only friend you've got?"

Kurama looked at Naruto with astonishment. He hadn't heard a human be this honest and open since the Sage.** 'This boy, he's got the same look in his eyes as that Old Man from long ago. He's totally serious.'** Naruto truly considered them friends despite how he felt towards the boy. **"Since when did we become friends?"**

"Just now," Naruto grinned. "And I want to thank you. You trying to break out of the seal lead to me meeting both of my parents. You're the bridge that connects me to them. If you throw your hatred out the window, I would, in turn, be the bridge that connects you to the real world, just like how B and 8 Tails are. So how about it?" Naruto asked, extending his fist.

Kurama didn't say anything. He only grinned and shared a fist bump in agreement. Naruto, seeing that they were on the same page, opened the seal completely, causing the fox's cage to disappear. **"You can get out now. Just because we have an understanding doesn't mean I don't like my quiet time."** Naruto nodded with a smile.

He exited that realm and stood up from the bed. He put his sandals and jacket on and went to the main guild area. It was still a little early, so the guild wasn't very full yet. He spotted the master and approached him. "Good to see you moving again, Naruto. What can I do for you?" he asked cheerfully.

"I'm planning on looking for a place to live today. Any ideas?"

"Hmmm. Your best bet is a small apartment. You could go around town and look for yourself, but how do you plan to pay rent?"

"Haha. You see, you owe me about 112,000 J from my battle yesterday. Did you really think I'd forget?"

"Makarov grinned shyly, "Darn you young people and your reliable memory!"

Naruto had gotten his payment and immediately left to hunt for apartments. He settled for one near the town's south side for about 85,000 J a month. It was a simple one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and living room area. He wouldn't need much furniture yet, but he at least needed a mattress.

He decided to shop for some clothes while he was out. 'I'd rather not spend the whole day shopping,' he thought as he walked through the streets of Magnolia. After a few minutes of walking, he spotted a tailor shop. 'Perfect timing!'

He entered the shop and approached the counter. "Hey, old man. Do you do custom orders?"

Naruto left the man's shop with near empty pockets. 'I'm glad he saw my guild stamp and gave me a discount, otherwise, is be broke again!' Naruto looked up to the sky. It was noon, so he decided to head back to the guild and see what jobs he could take.

* * *

The teen entered the guild and immediately had to duck behind cover. 'What the hell are they doing?' He stayed low and made his way next to Makarov. "Why aren't you stopping them?"

"Eh. there isn't any need to right now. Just wait, kid. After a few weeks in Fairy Tail and you'll be used to it!" The old man laughed and chugged a beer. "I assume you were successful in finding an apartment since your back here already. What else do you need?"

"I came by so I could go on my first mission. I have monthly rent to pay and I'll get evicted if I don't start making money."

"Then just go on a job!" Makarov said, slapping Naruto on the back. "You can pick any job from the request board. You don't have to wait for me to assign jobs to you. From what I saw in your fight, you can handle yourself pretty well."

Naruto's eyes lit up. He could do missions that he chose at his own will? This would be great for him. He could grind for a while and pile up cash and go on break for as long as he wanted! Why couldn't the Leaf be like that?

He walked over to the request bird and scanned it for anything that seemed worthwhile. 'Hmm. Nothing that seems too action packed. It's my first job, so I don't need anything too strenuous.' He grabbed the paper slip and signed in the job book to make it official. With that business done, he left the guild.

* * *

His objective was to deliver a package from Onibus to Hargeon Town. He walked to the train station. After seeing his map, he was on his way north. A shinobi like him didn't need to rely on anything else but their legs for transportation. He followed the tracks north until he reached Onibus after a few hours. 'Now, who was I supposed to pick this package up from?' He thought, teaching into his pocket for the request sheet.

"Are you the mage that accepted my request?" asked a middle aged man in a suit.

"Are you Mitchell Myers, the mayor of Onibus?" The man nodded and smiled. "Then I'm your guy!" They shook hands and discussed the job.

"The job you took seems very simple, but it has great significance. The package you are delivering holds information about new ocean trade routes between Fiore and other nearby nations. If bandits were to get their hands on those sea routes, they could easily steal cargo. It would be a huge hit for Fiore."

"So all I have to do is not let any bandits get this? No problem for Naruto Uzumaki!"

"That's good to hear. Be safe. If you are attacked on your way there, handle the thieves any way you see fit."

Naruto nodded and started on his way to Hargeon Town. It was about 4:30 p.m. He had a three and a half hour trip ahead of him, so he decided not to follow the tracks and just go straight to Hargeon Town. About half way through his journey, he stopped for a bathroom break, and as he was finishing up, he heard a scream.

"Help! I'm injured!" Naruto followed the voice to a young woman holding her ankle in pain. "My horse got spooked, bucked me off, and ran into the forest. And now my ankle is sprained," she said in a distressed tone.

Naruto looked around, then looked at the girl. "Come on, I'll carry you to the next town."

"Really? You're a lifesaver, literally." he picked her up puffy back style and began dashing through the forest. Her grip around his neck seemed tight so he slowed down a bit.

"You don't have to hold on so tight, I won't drop you," he reassured her.

"I know," she said, grinning. She tightened her grip sound the blonds neck with enough force to suffocate him.

"Get off me!" Naruto managed to say. He tried to throw her off his back, but he was too late. His legs got weak and he felt his consciousness slip from his grasp. The orange clad teen now lay limp on the ground at the hands of a woman he tried to help.

"It's about damn time this guy went down." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a flare, and shot it into the sky. Moments later, men emerged from the forest and tired Naruto up. They loaded him into the back of a horse and rode towards their hideout.

* * *

At the Hideout

* * *

"We searched his body and found the sea route plans our informant mentioned," a man said. "We have what we need. What should we do with him?"

"He's a mage. We could use him for ransom money," a large man said.

"No. We should hold on to him for a day, so if someone comes looking, we can have two mages as leverage for our ransom," another man suggested.

They held him prisoner at their hideout for another day. When no one came, they decided that he'd only be dead weight.

"What should we do with this kid, boss?"

"Kill him for all I care. All that matters is these trade routes."

Meanwhile, Naruto was in his mind scape plotting. "I don't think there's any need to merge our Chakra. I'm not trying to do a full transformation. I just wanna test the Chakra cloak's ability."

**"Then what are you waiting for. If you don't act now they might slit your throat before you leave the mind scape."**

Naruto exited his mind and listened to the people around him.

_"Kill him for all I care. All that matters is these trade routes."_

Naruto kept his eyes closed and drew out the Kyuubi Chakra. His body illuminated in the familiar yellow-gold aura. With chakra enhanced strength, he broke free from his restraints and immediately began attacking the people around him. With supreme quickness, he eliminated any threat the mages around him may have posed.

"What the hell? What the hell are you?" the young woman from earlier screamed with a trembling voice.

"Maybe you should have considered the possibility that I'm not your ordinary courier mage. Maybe I faked being unconscious so I could find out your plans and the location of this place. Now I know everything I need to know. The next step is making sure you guys can't go anywhere until the council can get here to arrest you."

The woman was about to speak when she fell to the ground. Naruto had hit the pressure point on the back of her neck to knock her out. He looked at all the limp, unconscious bodies around him and sighed. 'Using the cloak was pretty overkill,' he thought as he left clones to tie them up and make sure they didn't escape. 'It's already dark. I guess I'll have to rush now. He used the Body Flicker technique to cover the remaining distance in great leaps. If only he had wings like Sasuke's curse mark.

Nevertheless, Naruto finished the rest of the mission without incident and notified some of the council's guards in Hargeon Town about the thieves he'd captured. He was happy he did too, because they paid him like they would a bounty hunter. They weren't very dangerous people, so he got about 15,000 J per person captured. His job reward of 65,000 J plus his bounty money have him a grand total of 335,000 J.

'My first mission and I already have a fat wallet! I'll make sure to capture criminals on every job from now on!' It was late, so he stayed at an inn until the morning.

The sun peaked over the horizon and into the room's window, shining on Naruto's face and waking him up. 'Looks like that's my queue.' He made way for Magnolia.

* * *

At the Guild

* * *

"So I acted like a prisoner to get information about their plans. Then, when the time was right, I struck down their whole operation!"

The people around Naruto cheered at his eccentric sorry telling style. "That's great to hear that your first job was a success, Naruto!"

"I was hoping that it wouldn't get complicated by something, but if it wasn't for them capturing me, I wouldn't have a wad of cash!" The boy smiled and laughed with the people around them while they each traded stories.

'He's already fitting in nicely. I'm happy for him,' Makarov thought. Naruto saw Makarov looking and walked over.

"Hey, old man, I've got a lot of cash now. Are there any banks in this town?" The guild master smiled and gave him directions to Magnolia's bank.

Naruto walked out of the bank happily. He had a secure place where he could save all his money. If his jobs kept going as well add the first one, he might overwhelm the poor bank. While walking to his apartment, he saw Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Happy walking through the streets. For whatever reason, Erza was tugging along a huge amount of luggage.

"Hey guys, where are you headed?"

They turned towards him with smiles when they recognized his voice. "Just pack your stuff up and come on. You'll see when we get there," Gray assured him. Naruto grinned. He liked mystery every one in a while.

* * *

"A resort? Seriously?" Naruto was completely taken by suprise.

"We've all had some difficult jobs, so we decided to take a vacation. We had your ticket just in case you came back from your job on time," Erza explained.

Naruto smiled big and wide. "This is gonna be great. 5 days of pure relaxat-"

"LET'S GO! THE WATER IS THAT WAY!" Natsu screamed loud enough for everyone in a half a mile raidius to hear.

'Almost pure relaxation,' Naruto thought, laughing.

Despite Natsu's noisy demeanor, Naruto took full advantage of this relaxing time. He ignored Natsu's voice that constantly asked him for a fight. "There's no way I'm fighting you at a resort. Why don't you go to the casino with everybody else." Naruto stayed in the hot tub and zoned out.

BOOM. Naruto jumped into a fighting stance. He could easily blame that noise on Natsu's antics, but his instinct told him to at least check on his friends.

He ran into the casino and found Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and a blue haired women. "What the hell happened in here?"

"Erza and Happy have been kidnapped," said Lucy. "One of them said something about a Tower of Heaven!"

"How are we gonna find Erza if we don't even know where that is?" asked Gray. Naruto wasn't a tactician, but how he saw things right now, Erza's chances of being found were slim. He was just about to enter Sage Mode when Natsu spoke up.

"I can smell them! They went out on the ocean. We've gotta go now!" Natsu yelled. They followed his lead and found a small boat. Natsu's determined look faded as the waves got bigger. 'Don't tell me... he's worse than Gai sensei.' Naruto mentally face palmed.

"Just keep-ugh-going straight," Natsu managed to say between gags. This persisted for about 45 minutes when, sure enough, they saw a tall sillouetted structure lining in the distance.

"So that's where they took Erza." Gray stated. "We'll get her back no matter what. Nobody messes with Fairy Tail and gets away with it."

Naruto looked up at the tower. 'Only two days. The world flings me right back into action just that quick, eh?' He grinned and stood up. "Let's go get Erza back!"

* * *

**AN: I hope you guys enjoyed enjoyed chapter 3! The support has been out of this world!**


	4. Vacate the Area

Their boat has just reached the strange island. They all looked around at the area. It was rugged and rocky, and the tower stood tall over everything else. Juvia walked over to a pool of water and put her hand in it. A look of concentration over took her features.

She opened her eyes suddenly and said, "This water is connected to that tower's basement. It's a long swim, so you can use these to breath." She stood and formed hollow water orbs. Each person placed one over their head and began swimming.

They surfaced in the tower's basement and began drying themselves of at the waters edge. 'Do you feel that, Kurama?'

**'Yes. It reminds me of the Rinnegan's ability that absorbs chakra. This whole tower feels like it's sucking up all the energy from the surrounding area.'**

'That explains the lack of vegetation on this island,' Naruto thought while ringing the water out of his jacket.

Their calm moment was interrupted when around 100 guards stormed into the basement. "Stop right there! Give up now and you won't get hurt!" the leader yelled.

'How'd they find us? They must hat some kind of silent alarm,' Naruto thought. Natsu was building up magic for a Fire Dragon's Roar when Naruto stopped him. "Don't waste time on these guys," he said. "You've gotta keep moving. You guys go with Natsu, I'll handle them."

Natsu nodded and they all followed him up a staircase away from the guards while Naruto turned his attention to the hoard.

The group sped up a staircase and into a maze of corridors. Natsu stopped running suddenly. "I can smell Erza, she's close!" They ran with Natsu and found thematically in a large room with pillars.

The armor clad mage turned and faced them with s suprised look. "What are you guys doing here?" It was their red headed comrade. "You have to leave now. This doesn't involve you." "There's no way we're leaving you here! And we have to find Happy!" Natsu retorted.

"They got Happy, too?" Erza bit her lip.

"Erza," Lucy began, "you can tell us what's going on. We're your friends."

"That doesn't matter right now. We'll find Happy and we'll leave."

"I'm not moving until you tell us something," Gray said. Natsu nodded.

Erza sighed and began her tale.

* * *

Tower Basement

* * *

Naruto stood facing the guards. 'Using the tailed beast cloak seems overkill,' he thought, remembering how he overpowered the bandits from his first job. 'Sage mode isn't a bad idea, but these guys don't seem willing to give me enough time to gather up the natural energy.

**'Let me do it. The cloak won't work with how this tower saps up energy. It'll only exhaust you,'** Kurama explained.

Naruto thought for a moment. 'Can I trust you to handle them without killing them? I'd rather not have their blood on my hands.'

**'If that's what it takes for me to get some freedom, I'll happily oblige. Now switch with me.'** Naruto nodded, and suddenly, Kurama was in control of his body. Naruto's features became more feral. His hair became spikier, his fingernails grew sharp, and his eyes went from a clear blue to an ominous red.

Nearly every guard gulped at the sight of Naruto's pronounced canines. "Don't waver!" yelled their commander. "We have to stop this intruder at all costs. Do it for Lord Jellal!" The men gripped their weapons in anticipation.

* * *

Council HQ

* * *

"We can not let Jellal use the R-System! There is only one way to guarantee that his plans don't succeed. We must... fire Etherion!"

"That's outrageous, Seigrain! That weapon is far too dangerous! It's more dangerous than your brother's tower!"

"We have nine council members here, but we only need the approval of 5. I am in favor of firing Etherion. We need four more," the young man said.

"I concur, "said Ultear with a raised hand. "The R-System must be stopped. There's no telling what Jellal could do with that power."

The room was dead silent. Each council member was tense. Firing Etherion was no small matter. In one blast, it could destroy an entire city. Such power was to only be used in the most dire situations.

"You would allow my brother to resurrect _that _mage? Etherion is our only option to prevent that. I beg you, please vote in favor of Etherion!" Seigrain pleaded with his fellow council members.

2 council members, with reluctant expressions, raised their hands. "Etherion might cause damage to Fiore's coast which could result in a loss of lives, but if the Dark Mage is resurrected, many more would die."

"I assure you that firing Etherion will stop Jellal and his scheme," Seigrain started. He looked around at the other members. "If we wait any longer, Jellal may succeed! Will you be a reason that _he _wasn't brought to life, or will you be known as the council of inaction?"

The others members looked at each other. Soon enough, they, except for one member, approved the use of Etherion. "Let us start preparations to fire it. We don't have time to waste!" yelled Seigrain. They all shuffled around hastily to summon Etherion.

* * *

The Tower

* * *

'You've gotta hurry up with these guys. I can feel our chakra slowly draining into of this tower,' said Naruto.

'Don't rush me when I'm having fun!' Kurama replied as his fist connected with a guards jaw. 'These guys won't entertain me much longer anyway. You'll have control soon enough,' he assured while mowing through the clump of guards.

Naruto couldn't deny that these guards were nothing more than fodder. He watched as the tailed beast in boy form thrashed each guard with ferocity. 'He's having way too much fun with this,' he thought to himself.

Kurama looked around the room and grinned. Every guard was slumped on the ground. His work was done.'That was fun, you have to let me out on a regular basis from now on.'

'I'm sure we'll work something out.' They switched places and Naruto was once again pilot of his body. He looked around and began following the staircase Natsu and the ready had taken.

He ran quickly and was eventually hearing people talking.

"That's how I know Jellal. We were enslaved together at this tower," Erza said, concluding her story.

Naruto followed the echo of that familiar voice and found his friends standing around Erza. "There you guys are!" he said running towards them. They turned and greeted him with grins.

"You finished off all those guys that fast? We weren't apart for more than 5 minutes!" Lucy stated in awe.

"I have my ways," Naruto said. "It sounded like you guys were reminiscing about the past, but there's more important matters at hand. I don't know if you guys have noticed yet, but this tower is absorbing our energy every second we're inside it. We've gotta stop whoever that Jellal guy is and escape."

"You're right! I've gotta hurry up and save Happy!" Natsu proclaimed as he sped off. So much for sticking together.

"Leave him be," stated a new voice. "I can lead you all to Jellal."

"Simon? Why are you trying to help us all of a sudden?" questioned Erza, suprised at his change of motive.

"I've known that Jellal was being manipulated all along. I saw through his less, but I'm too weak to do anything on my own. Please, if you would help me, we could actually stop him."

Erza nodded after she saw the desperate look in her old friends eyes. "Lead the way!" she encouraged. Naruto, Gray, Lucy, and Juvia followed. "We have to watch out. Jellal hired dark mages from Death's Head Caucus. I'm sure we'll run into them soon. Please don't hold back on them, because they won't show mercy. They only want blood." The rest of the group nodded and continued running.

Natsu came to a stop in front of a large cat shaped door. He entered the room and saw a myriad of cat stuffed animals and toys. The room's theme was entirely feline. He walked father into the room when he was ambushed. "What the-? Happy?!"

"Natsu! the exceed replied gleefully. "Hurry and get me out of here before that girl comes back!" the cat begged. Suddenly, they heard footsteps in the hallway. Happy assumed a sitting position on a cat shaped pillow while Natsu put on a cat helmet and hid.

'This is gonna be a disaster.' Natsu thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, Simon ran through the tower's winding corridors with Erza and company in tow.

"The top of the tower isn't far, but the way the halls twist and turn slows us down," Naruto remarked.

"The way this tower's arranged makes us easy to ambush at any given time," added Gray. Moments after his statement, a figure burst through a wall near them and attacked.

"Gray, from now on, don't talk," said Naruto. The dust cleared and revealed not one, but three figures.

"You won't move beyond this point," said the pink haired woman. He words acted as a signal for her comrades to act. The large owl headed man accelerated at Gray with ridiculous speed granted to him by his jet pack. He grabbed Gray and threw him at Naruto. The collision pushed Naruto and Gray through a wall and into a large open area in the tower.

"I will serve justice!" yelled the owl man. He flew into the large room after Naruto and Gray.

"Damn, that guy's strong," said Naruto. "He threw you hard enough to send us both through a wall." Naruto stood up and looked up at the hovering man above them.

"We have to find a way to take away his flying ability," advised Gray. "I might be able to freeze that jet pack I'd I can get closer enough." Naruto nodded and got in a battle ready stance.

Erza, Lucy, and Juvia stood starting back at the 2 mages before them when the woman spoke up. "Vivaldus, I'll handle Titania. Do something about the other two," she ordered.

"With pleasure!" the man yelled with a twisted smile on his face. The loud man began swinging his baiting in a circle. After a few rotations, his hair increased to an extreme length, wrapped around the two girls, and tightened. He carried them to another large area that seemed to be used for the tower's plumbing/drainage system.

"Let us go, creep!" Lucy demanded.

"Let you go? You asked for it!" He then tossed them in the air. Before they could hit the ground, he strummed his magic guitar and played a deafening and disorienting tune. The girls might have landed on their feet if it wasn't for his guitar magic.

The music stopped and the girls stood up. "Juvia will handle him," proclaimed the water mage. She transformed her body into water and sped towards the man, only to be blasted back by more deafening music. 'Why does the music hurt Juvia?' She asked herself silently.

The man grinned. "You can't stop my magic. Physical attacks may pass through your body, but sound waves disrupt water. And now that you're in your water form, this next part week be a lot easier."

"I won't let you win," said the red head. "My comrades and I will prevail and stop Jellal."

"I'm glad that you have such confidence, but my sword can cut through anything," explained Ikaruga. "I'll have fun cutting you and your confidence to pieces." The woman clashed with their swords. Ikaruga's attack was so quick that it seemed like she stayed still. The effects of her attack were visible though. Erza's armor fell off in pieces.

"How can you expect to compete with me if you move that slowly?" the pink haired woman asked, laughing. "This is truly pitiful. The great Titania of Fairy Tail is defeated in one swing of my sword."

"It's not over yet. I've still got plenty of fight in me," Erza said as she stood up. She requipped into some red pants with yellow flame patterns and bandages covering her bust. "As long as I'm wearing armor, I'm only hiding from my problems. Instead, I'll face you head on!" She dashed at Trinity Raven's leader, but was interrupted by someone yelling her name.

"Shô? What are you-?"

"I won't let anything happen to you!" The man then trapped her in one of his cards.

"Hm? What's this? You think you can just barge in and interrupt our battle?" asked Ikaruga.

"You won't hurt Erza anymore! I'll make sure you can never hurt her again!" Shô dashed at the sword wielding woman with his fist drawn back.

"Don't do it Shô! She'll-!" Her words didn't have time to reach him before the deed was done. Erza looked on helplessly from inside the card as Shô was impaled by Ikaruga's sword.

"Burn, little boy." As she spike these words, fire traveled from the sword hilt, all the way up the blade, and engulfed Shô.

"Don't worry, there won't be anything left of him in a short while," she said as she removed her sword from his still burning body. "Now, back to more important things," she said, looking at Erza. "I wonder what would happen if I cut this card in half. Would you die, too?" Her sword sliced the card, but instead of being injured, Erza was freed from the card.

Erza wasted no time attacking Ikaruga with reckless abandon. She put every bit of her energy into her attacks. Ikaruga's eyes widened as she realized that she was being overwhelmed by Erza's anger driven attacks.

Erza slashed at Ikaruga, who tried to block the attack. The pink haired woman would have never expected her sword to shatter. She barely ducked the next swing, but fell onto her back. 'Am I about to die?' she thought. She was frozen in fear, her heart racing, her body refusing to respond to her brain's commands.

No trace of mercy could be seen in Erza's eyes. She was moving automatically. Her wide, horizontal swing of her sword was on its way to Ikaruga's neck. At the last moment, Erza tilted her sword so that the flat side of the blade would hit Ikaruga. The impact left her unconscious.

Erza stood over the woman, panting hard. She fell to her knees and looked at her hands in disbelief. 'Was that me fighting just a second ago? I could've _killed _her. I almost lost myself.'

She sat still for a few more moments then stood. She clenched her fists in anger. If she wasn't so weak, Shô would still be alive. Erza took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't have time to mourn. She ran out of the room and made her way toward the tower's top floor.

* * *

"Care to help me fight, Mr. 'I'll try to freeze his jets'?" Naruto asked, irritated.

"Speak for yourself, Naruto. You're the one who's supposed to slow him down!"

Naruto and Gray were having difficulties against the owl man. Naruto gazed at the mage hovering above them. "Gray, I have a plan," Naruto said.

"I'm all ears."

"Instead of slowing him down, why don't we make him speed up?"

Gray looked at Naruto. "You sound like Natsu when you say stupid things like that. Get serious!"

"I am serious," Naruto replied. "I'll handle the speeding up part, you'll see what I mean once I start." Naruto formed a large number of shadow clones around him. They all grabbed onto each others ankles to form a long line. The clones swung themselves at the flying man like a human whip, forcing the man to evade their attempts.

Gray watched closely, trying to grasp what Naruto meant for him to do. Then it clicked. 'I'll see! I've just gotta make sure I time this right!' He got in a ready stance as he prepared a large ice spell. He waited for the man to get close to an edge of the room when he activated his magic. "Ice Make: Geyser!" Ice jutted out from the closest wall and toward the owl mage. The ice encased the man completely and rendered him immobile.

"That's it!" Naruto yelled in triumph. "That flying bastard was really starting to annoy me!"

Gray grinned. "Enough with the celebrations. We've still got to get to the top of this tower."

"I'm sorry I wasn't any help in your fight, but I'll do my best to assist you all. I'll go find Erza for you," offered Simon.

Naruto nodded and they resumed their journey.

* * *

'I wish there was some water around! I could really use Aquarius' help.' Lucy had tried Taurus, but he was too easy to distract and was defeated easily. Juvia had fought, but she couldn't ruin on her own. Lucy thought hard for a few moments, but cane up with nothing.

"Lucy! Use Juvia! Use Juvia and her water!" yelled the water mage.

"I can't belive I never thought of that before!" Lucy used Juvia's water to summon her strongest spirit.

"Why the hell did you summon me, girl. I was on a _date _with my _boyfriend," _said Aquarius, spitefully.

"I don't have time for your attitude right now! I'm gonna combine your magic with Juvia's so wet can defeat that guy!" yelled Lucy.

Juvia readied herself and her water magic. Aquarius reluctantly complied with Lucy's demand. "You'd better remember who your talking to," the celestial spirit said while glaring at Lucy.

"Nevermind that! Do it!"

"Unison raid!" the women shouted in unison.

"As if I'd be defeated by you two," the man said. He stubbornly stood and let the attack hit him, thinking that he'd be able to handle it. Moments later, he was unconscious on the ground.

The two female mages could only stand there in disbelief. They had done it. They had beaten a dark mage. They both felt exhausted after the Unison Raid, so they nonverbally agreed to rest while they soaked up the victorious atmosphere.

* * *

Council HQ

* * *

"The preparations are done. Seigrain, since it's your brother's life at stake, you fire Etherion," said Ultear.

The man's hand hovered over the button as the suspense in the room built. Suddenly, he passed the button. "It is done. Etherion will fire."

Far above Earthland, a strange weapon charged up energy to fire at the Tower of Heaven.

* * *

Tower

* * *

All the mages in the tower were taken off guard when a bright light filled the sky. The light was so bright that one might confuse it with the sunrise. Then, the light made impact with the tower. The ground shook and dust flew. The Fairy Tail mages shielded their eyes from the light. When the tower stopped shaking, they were suprised to see that the tower had taken the a crystalline form.

'I have to hurry and tell Erza so she and her friends can escape,' thought Simon.

He caught up to Erza in a relatively short time. Beside, he had been living in the tower for nearly 8 years now. It would be a shame if he didn't know his way around. He sped her and called out to her.

"Simon! Where are the others? I'd everyone okay?" she asked with a desperate tone of voice.

"Don't worry, they're all okay, but if they don't leave soon they might not be."

"What do you mean? Does it have something to do with that light?"

"The past 8 years have gone towards making the tower able to absorb the blast from Etherion. It's basically a giant lacrima. The problem is that Etherion is highly unstable after it is fired. The tower can only hold wheels power for so long. After a certain point, the tower will violently explode."

Erza's eyes widened. 'An explosion of that magnitude would covet a great distance. If everyone's going to survive this, they need to start evacuating now.'

"I can use telepathic magic," Simon started, "tell them the situation and that they need to start evacuating immediately."

Erza nodded and touched Simon's hand which allowed her to speak to everyone else via his magic. She explained the tower's true purpose and Jellal's motives. She urged all of them to escape before it exploded.

Naruto looked around. He gazed at the crystal. He put his hand out and touched the crystal while meditating. 'The amount of energy in this tower is on tailed beast levels!' What ever just hit the tower was no joke, and what ever the tower was made of I'd dangerous enough to corral all that power in and make it it's own. "You heard the girl, Gray," he said to the ice mage. "We're leaving."

"I'm not one to argue. Let's go."

Lucy and Juvia, after hearing Erza's plea for them to leave the island, knew that it was time to go. "Juvia remembers the way to the boat," she said as she stood up. "We will go there and wait for Naruto, Natsu, Happy, and Gray-sama."

Lucy nodded as a water bubble encrypted her head. They jumped into the water and began swimming to the boats they came on.

Natsu heard what Erza had to say. He knew that two of his enemies were in the room, but this situation changes things.

He stood and took the helmet off. Before Wally and Milliana could attack him, he put his hands up and spoke. "Before you do that, talk to Simon about what's going to happen to this tower." The two mages looked at each other in confusion. Wally brought his hand up to the side of his head as a sign that he was speaking to Simon telepathically. After a short moment, his eyes widened.

Natsu grinned. "I guess you understand now. Jellal couldn't give two shits snout if you guys died when this tower blows up! How could you follow someone as heartless as him? You two were Erza's friends, and it would hurt her if you died. I'm telling you this to help you and her."

"How is it that you can show such kindness to us? We're your enemies, yet you are treating us like your friends," Milliana stated.

"It's because you're friends of a friend. There's a boat on the north side of the island that we came on. Happy, tell the others that these two are cool now." With that, he began running through the hallways in a rave for the top of the tower. 'Erza couldn't possibly believe that if leave without her right?' He thought to himself laughing.

Happy lead Wally and Milliana to the boat where they found everyone else waiting for them.

"Happy, where are Natsu and Erza? Didn't they come with you?" asked Lucy. Before the cat could answer, Gray spoke up.

"Damn that flame brained idiot. Of course he wouldn't come."

Naruto grinned. "He's lucky to have strong instincts. That's the only explanation for him staying in the tower. When Erza told us to leave the tower, we all assumed she included herself in the evacuation. Natsu was able to pick up on the true meaning behind her words," Naruto explained.

"Well," Lucy started, "what exactly was the true meaning?"

Naruto looked at everyone. "She'd do whatever she can to stop Jellal, even if the tower blew up with both of them on it. It means she's ready to die to stop Jellal."

* * *

They all sat in the boat, waiting for Erza, Natsu, and Simon to arrive, each of them gaging at the tower in silence. "From down here, the tower looks really pretty under the stars," Lucy said.

"Too bad it's purpose is so evil. I could get used to a calm atmosphere like this," Naruto added. Unfortunately, the calm atmosphere he had just mentioned was interrupted by an eruption of flames from the top of the R-system. They all watched the battle unfold between Natsu and Jellal.

'Flame Brain's really going at it up there,' thought Gray. He and the other mages watched as the tower seemed to shake and large chunks of its crystal surface we knocked off. Then, in a flash, the movement stopped. There was silence for a few minutes. The only thing that had changed was that the tower had begun pulsating light.

"I think we should probably start rowing away now," Naruto suggested. He didn't like how that tower was blinking at them. The blinking got faster and neither until it seemed like a continuous steam of blinding light. They could hardly look towards the tower. The wind picked up and made waves that were almost too big for the small boat to handle.

Suddenly, and loudly, a beam of energy shot out and upwards from the tower. All the mages watched in awe and fear that the building would soon explode, sending a huge wave toward them. A minute passed and the energy beam subsided, and the fierce wind and waves went away with it. To their suprise, the tower was gone, as if it's fibers and materials,which were fused with Etherion, had been whisked away in the beam of energy.

"I'll be right back," Naruto stated simply. He leaped over the edge of the boat and onto the water. Yes, _onto_, not _into_. The mages still in the boat watched with suprised expressions as Naruto ran on the water as if it was something he did often. Despite how the felt about it, they were too mentally exhausted to question it at that moment.

Naruto arrived at the island and found an unconscious Natsu and Erza. He made a clone and proceeded to carry them back to the boat where everyone else waited. As he laid them down in the boat, he said, "Alright, let's go."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. New Developments

**Another update this fast? What a suprise! Hope you guys like this one. We get to see more of Naruto in action!**

* * *

The trip back to the resort was, in comparison to the occurrences in the last few hours, uneventful. This was partially due to Natsu being unconscious. The boy laid there at the bottom of the boat and showed no signs of walking up anytime soon.

Naruto's clones rowed the boat onto the shoreline and, lead by Gray, carried Natsu and Erza to a hospital. A doctor provided them with a double hospital room and space for Naruto and the others to sit. "Hey, Naruto," Gray started. The blond simply looked toward him in response. "Back at the tower, you were still holding back weren't you?"

Naruto looked at Gray and then at the other mages around him. It seemed like it was a question they all wanted to know the answer to. "I was. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. Your fighting style and techniques are different from any mage I've ever seen. You're our guild mate and yet we know next to nothing about you," Gray explained.

"I'm just not big into flexing my muscles and showing off. I have my moments, but I usually do as much as I need to. Let's just say that certain circumstances have, throughout my life, forced me to restrain my anger and power."

"What exactly are these circumstances?" asked a female voice from a nearby hospital bed. It was Erza, who had just woken up from her slumber.

"Erza's awake!" shouted the blue cat in glee. He flew into her bed and took a seated position next to her.

"I see that Natsu is still unconscious. Hell probably be out of it for a couple more days," she started.

"A couple of days? Did he get beat up that badly?" asked Gray incredulously.

"No," answered Erza. "On the contrary, he dealt most of the beating. He ate some Etherion, which allowed him to enter some powered up state. The drawback is that Etherion has more elements than just fire. The negative effects of him eating other elements is showing right now."

Gray brought his palm to his forehead. "What an idiot."

Lucy was the next to speak. "I'm glad that we won, but what happened to Jellal? Could he still be out there?"

Erza looked to the girl and answered. "I honestly don't know. I don't remember anything after the tower exploded. How did I even get here, anyway? I told you all to leave the island beforehand."

"You can thank Naruto for that," Lucy began. "He ran on the water to rewire you guys!" The excitement was apparent in her tone.

_'On the water?' _Erza thought to herself. She looked at the blind male with a hint of suprise on her face. "Is that so? Thank you for you noble gesture, Naruto."

"It's really not a big deal, heh," he said cheekishly. "You guys did most of the fighting. If it weren't for you two, that Jellal guy would have done all kinds of evil." Erza simply grinned back at him and began hey out of the bed.

"Well, enough of the past, let's get a carriage and go back to Fairy Tail. Natsu can sleep in one of the beds we have there." The others nodded and went out to make preparations.

* * *

3 Days Later: Fairy Tail Guild Hall

* * *

Makarov stood atop the balcony railing and addressed the whole guild at once. "Everyone! I have an announcement!" He paused a moment to let everyone quiet down. "Two mages from Phantom Lord have decided to join us on our journey! Treat them like family and get along!"

Everyone was quiet while his words sunk in, but before it they fully registered in everyone's minds, the doors busy open, revealing two figures.

Naruto recognized Juvia, but the menacing man next to her was a mystery. The guild was silent as the two mages took their seats. Gray suddenly stood up and smashed his hands on the table he was at.

"What the hell is this bullshit? This isn't funny, Master! I don't mind Juvia joining, but him?" Gray glared at the man with disgust. His glare was met with the dark red eyes of the long haired man, who starred back with as much anger as Gray. "You couldn't possibly let him join after what he did too Levy, Jet, and Droy!"

Another man with orange-brown hair stood. "Master, please reconsider! That _monster _is an enemy to our guild. There's no telling who he'll hurt next! Don't you care at all about what he did to us?"

"My decision is final. Don't make me repeat myself." The time of Makarov's voice was dangerously stern. Everyone may have been mad, but weren't dumb enough to challenge Makarov's authority.

Naruto looked on as the enraged mages took their seats, albeit, very reluctantly. He looked at the man and took in his appearance. 'He definitely looks pretty mean. What exactly did he do to get on everyone's bad side?'

In bad timing, Natsu walked into the guild hall from the infirmary, having just woken up. "What's up everybody?" he asked, smiling. He looked around at everyone and saw how tense they were. Then something caught his eye, and, without hesitation, dashed at the new member. "Why the hell are you here, Gajeel?"

Gajeel stood up to match Natsu's posture. They were now forehead to forehead. "Same reason you are, Flame Brat. I'm a member of Fairy Tail," he answered while showing off his god stamp. "What are you gonna do about it, punk?" Gajeel grinned widely, showing his pronounced canines.

"I'm gonna beat you until you leave Fairy Tail forever!" yelled Natsu.

"Go ahead and and try it!" Both men had reached the end of their fuse. They each drew back their fists. The whole guild watched on.

An instant later, the two mages were suprised to see a blond teen had stopped both of their punches simultaneously. "It's not right for comrades to fight," Naruto stated, simply. He pushed each of them in opposite directions. Erza caught Natsu and immediately put a death grip of a headlock on him, while Gajeel was captured by Juvia's water sphere.

"Let me go!" both mages tried to break away from their captures, to no avail.

"I'm sure we can all put the past behind us, right everyone?" Erza requested, though her "request" was more like a demand with the intimidating aura she was radiating. Natsu and Gajeel calmed down and were released.

"This ain't over, Dragneel," Gajeel said before exciting the guild.

"It sure ain't, Redfox," Natsu replied. He turned away and took a seat near the bar.

Erza sighed. "It'll be difficult to keep them under control."

"I can tell," Naruto replied. "I see that nobody really likes Gajeel, but why do he and Natsu have so much animosity for each other?"

"They're both dragon slayers," Erza replied. "Not only that, but they've fought before, so their probably itching to fight again."

**'They remind me of you and Sasuke from way back,'** said Kurama. **'You two couldn't get along, but when you did, you made a good team.'**

Naruto grinned at Kurama's words as nostalgia flowed through him. 'Haha. those were the days.' His grin turned to sadness the more he thought about it. He would never get to see Konoha again. He'd never get to fulfill his promise to Sakura...

"Naruto, are you okay?" Erza's words made him snap back to the present.

"Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a bit," he explained, scratching the back of his head.

Erza looked at Naruto for a moment. 'He's such a terrible liar. That was more than just spacing out.' She decided to address that later. "By the way, Naruto, you never answered my question."

"Huh? What question?"

"Don't play dumb. What are the 'circumstances' that force you to hold back when you fight? I'm curious to know what your full capabilities are. Anyone would be after seeing how fast you just moved to stop a fight."

"I think you'll find out as time goes on. I'd rather not let the fox out of the bag just yet. It's a personal issue."

"Fox? What do you mean by that?" she asked with more curiosity.

Naruto inwardly cursed himself for letting that slip out. "Ah! Don't mind that. It was a slip of the tongue, yeah," he said while waving his hands with exasperation. Erza was not convinced.

"If you say so, but no mater how hard you try, I'll find out," she said as she walked away to discipline Natsu.

Naruto took a deep breath and walked to the bar. 'That was close. How could I be so absent minded?'

**'Your Uzumaki heritage is to blame. But your only half Uzumaki, so part of you is just plain dumb,'** the fox teased.

'Shut up. Your the one trapped in a teenagers body.'

**'That was a low blow,**' the fox growled. With that, the conversation was over.

Naruto sat at the bar and ordered ramen. He took his time to savor every flavor. When he finished his ramen bowl, he stood and walked over to Lucy, Gray,and Juvia.

He sat and nodded as a greeting. He noticed that Lucy didn't look up when he say down. 'Whatever she's looking at in that magazine must be really interesting,' he thought.

"She's been like this ever since we got back," Gray said. "It's the advertisement for the Harvest Festival and the Fantasia Parade."

"I see," Naruto replied simply. Konoha had holidays and celebrations during peace times,so he could relate. "When does it start?"

"On October 15th, so, a week from today," Gray answered.

Naruto nodded and stood to leave the guild. He thought to himself on his wall home. 'I guess I was so preoccupied with stopping Madara that I forgot that my birthday was so close.' He looked up at the sky. 'I might be apart from everyone in Konoha, but I think they'd be happy that I can have my birthday without it being interrupted by war.'

He walked and reminisced on old times with his friends. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to think of them until now, and, regardless of how positive an outlook he had on his new life, he couldn't help but be sad that he'd never see them again.

He walked into his apartment and settled down for the night.

* * *

Harvest Festival

* * *

Naruto sat up and stretched. He showered up and, under the cool morning sun, made his way to the guild hall.

Everything seemed normal, besides the slightly tense atmosphere thanks to Gajeel being there. He and Natsu had had a few skirmishes over the days after Gajeel joined Fairy Tail. Each time the had a conflict, their fire were snuffed out by Erza. They didn't get along, but after Erza's threat of severe punishment, they "learned" how to not immediate argue while in the same room.

Naruto shrugged off the stiffness in the air and casually walked to the bar to eat. He chose his favorite meal and ate. With nothing else to do at that moment, he went to check the request board. 'I'll find a good job and save it for after the festival,' he thought.

While browsing the board, a noise from behind him pulled his attention away from the requests.

"Hey, old man! I'm here to take your spot as guild master!"

Makarov's expression became stern. "Laxus, stop acting like a child. I wouldn't step down for you anyway. You are too obsessed with power. If you leave now, there won't be any consequences."

"You speak as if you'll be able to deal out those 'consequences'. You've become senile, Gramps! It's time for the next generating to take power whether you like it or not." Laxus snapped and a green clad woman with glasses used a spell.

Her eyes glowed a bright yellow, and suddenly, all the girls participating in the Miss Fairy Tail Contest were turned to stone. Laxus laughed. "As new guild master, I'm getting rid of anything that makes Fairy Tail look weak, starting with this little pageant. In its place, a brand new and exciting event that I call, The Battle of Fairy Tail!"

"Laxus! Now isn't the time for this! Don't make me-"

"Ha! Gramps, if you try anything, all those pretty little pageant girls will crumble. Is that what you want?" With that, he and his team, the Thunder God Tribe, began walking out of the guild. Laxus paused,turned around, and spoke. "Old man, if you don't step down before the Fantasia Parade, Thunder Palace will destroy this town. I'm sure that that would pain your old little heart," Laxus laughed and left all the guild members in shock.

"What are we spread to do now?" someone asked.

"What kind of question is that? Of course we're gonna fight!" yelled Natsu. "Laxus is our friend. He wouldn't destroy Magnolia. He just wants to spice up the Harvest Festival!"

Naruto looked at Natsu skeptically. 'That guy seemed pretty damn serious about that stuff.' "Whether or not he was serious," Naruto started, "we've gotta do something about Erza and the rest being turned to stone."

"If you defeat Evergreen, they'll be returned to their original states," explained Makarov. Naruto nodded.

"I'll beat Evergreen myself! How date she do this to Mirajane!" yelled Elfman.

"No. You stay and get your sister when I undo that petrification. Besides, you'd probably lose because you're feelings week cloud your judgement while fighting," Naruto advised. Makarov nodded and put a hand on Elfman's shoulder.

"C'mon Natsu, let's handle business." Natsu responded by cracking his knuckles. They ran out the door, or rather, Naruto did, but Natsu was blocked by a barrier.

"What the hell? Why can't I leave?"

Naruto looked back at Natsu. "That Levy girl is smart right? One I beat Evergreen, Levy will be freed and be able to do something about the barrier." Natsu nodded and watched as Naruto dashed away.

'I have no idea where in going,' Naruto thought to himself. He didn't have time to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. He created some clones and they leaped across rooftops in search of Evergreen.

**'Why not use Sage Mode?'** asked Kurama.

'I will, but I can make the most of the 5 minutes of Sage energy if I know where she is before I enter the mode.' Just as Naruto had finished his explanation, one of his clones had made contact with Evergreen. 'Looks like it's time to go.' He stood and ran in the direction the clones signal came from.

When he was relatively close, he made another clone that dropped down to street level. It found a quiet, secluded already ally and began gathering Natural Energy.

Naruto had seen Evergreen's magic already, so he knew not to look at her eyes. 'It'll be a lot like fighting Sasuke,' he thought.

He was forcefully pulled from his memories as a bright yellow substance shot at him. "They sent _you? _Makarov underestimates my skill." She speed speaking and, with a wave of her hands, shot a barrage of _something _at Naruto.

'Whatever it is, I don't wanna take any hits,' he thought as he took cover. "I think the real issue is that you're overestimating yourself," he shouted from behind a chimney.

"You have some nerve talking to the Fairy Queen that way! I'll make sure to turn you to stone just like I did to Erza!"

'So her real beef is with Erza? I might be able to use that.' "You have a unique power, but it won't work on me," he said as he dispelled his clone. Suddenly, his body was filled with energy, and his pupils became rectangular, mimicking a toad. Then he close his eyes and adjusted his headband to cover them.

"You sound really confident in yourself. Why don't you step out and price your worth," she yelled back. Naruto stepped out from behind his cover and Evergreen began laughing. "How dumb of you. Turning people to stone isn't my only ability, as you saw earlier. I'm very capable with my secondary magic!"

Naruto "looked" at Evergreen and spoke. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I've fought other people with dangerous eye powers who are on a much higher fighting level than you. My eyes being covered isn't me handicapping myself because your a female."

"Whatever you say," she yelled as she shot more of her projectiles at Naruto. To her suprise, Naruto was ducking and weaving each and every one of her attacks. She paused her onslaught for a moment and looked on in disbelief. 'What the hell is going on?' she thought to herself. 'I'm the Queen of Fairies!'

"Whether or not you know it yet, you're going to lose. You're totally outclassed in this situation. I'm going to give you a chance. If you else your stone technique on everyone you used it on, I won't embarrass you."

Evergreen's facial expression was frantic. 'Embarrass me? Embarrass me?' "Embarrass me?!" She lost all reason and went all out with her attacks, giving it her all to beat her blind foe. "Who do you think you are?"

Naruto dodged her attacks,but she wouldn't let up. 'This fight had dragged on long enough.' He created two clones that made a beeline to Evergreen. She was forced to stop her hail of Fairy magic and defend herself.

The clones were able to subdue her and pin her to the wall of an adjacent building. She began panicking and thrashing around, trying to break away from the iron grips of her adversary. Then the glint of metal grabbed her attention. The metal was from her enemies headband, who was now sprinting at her with a clenched fist.

Said fist was headed directly at her face. Her clenched shut in anticipation of the impact.

_Crunch. _

Evergreen opened her eyes to see that the deadly fist had missed her skull. Her eyes looked at where the blonds fist had penetrated. What was supposed to be a large portion of a brick wall was reduced to dust, and in its place, elbow deep, was Naruto's arm.

"It could have been over for you. Now that you see the Suze of the power gap, I'll ask you again," Naruto spoke low as he took the headband off his eyes and removed his arm from the wall. "Undo your magic."

Evergreen knew better than to disobey a second time. She undid her spell, releasing the taped contestants. "I-I did it," she stuttered as she fell to the ground. Seeing her life flash before her eyes took away any week to fight back anymore.

Naruto sighed in relief and grinned. "That's good to hear. I think it would be best for me too take you back to the guild, though. Master probably had some choice words to say to you." He picked her up and carried her on his back as he jumped from roof to roof.

Somewhere along the way, he ran into Erza. "Erza! I handled this situation. Find Laxus and end this."

Erza, knowing that time was limited, replied, "What matters the most is getting rid of Thunder Palace. Mirajane is going to handle Freed so his rune traps will disappear. Levy is also working on how to get Natsu out of the guild, so he sniff out Laxus hiding spot and fight him."

Naruto nodded, gazing at the golden orbs floating above Magnolia. "Just let me know if I'm needed. I'll help in any way I can." Each mage continued on their way. Upon entering the guild, he saw that Natsu was paving back and forth, while Gajeel watched Levy work. He put evergreen down near Makarov and went to see what Gajeel found so interesting.

'Those must be runes. They remind me of seals and sealing formulas.' He stood and watched, which didn't go unnoticed by Gajeel. Red eyes meet his gaze. "Yo," Naruto Daud simply, imitating his sensei. "We haven't met, but I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Stop acting so friendly. I know you probably hate me like the rest of the guild," Gajeel replied in a slightly sharp tone.

"Actually, I wasn't a member until after the Phantom Lord incident. Whatever you did too be disliked doesn't apply to my opinion of you."

"Whatever." The iron dragon slayer looked away from Naruto and back to what Levy was doing.

"I got it! Natsu will be able to leave the guild now!" the blue haired girl shouted in triumph. Not even 3 seconds later, Natsu was out the door.

Naruto grinned at the energetic personality of Natsu. It reminded him of his younger self. the shinobi walked over and took a seat next to Makarov. "Master, what are you gonna do to punish Laxus?"

Makarov sighed. "I hate to say it, but I'll have to kick him out of the guild. Though, I am worried that he week follow in his father's footsteps." Naruto looked at the sad expression on Makarov's face and decided to change the subject.

"What exactly is Thunder Palace, and how do we stop it. I talked to Erza, but she didn't have time to explain."

Makarov thought for a moment then spoke. "Thunder Palace is a form of lightning magic. Each orb in the sky is filed with lightning magic, and at Laxus' command, week unleash lightning bills onto Magnolia." He paused in the middle of his explanation when they heard an explosion.

"Natsu and Laxus are fighting already," Naruto stated.

Makarov nodded. "Let's go to the balcony so we can see what's happening," Makarov suggested.

Their eyes scanned the town for signs of a large scale battle. They soon found out that the battle was taking place at the cathedral, because, through its colorful glass windows were sharp flashes. "I pray they don't destroy the building. The council would skewer me for sure," Makarov said gloomily.

Before Makarov could continue his explanation, a voice spike to them.

_"Everyone, this is Erza. Thunder Palace is above Magnolia and could destroy the town at any moment. Aim your magic at the orbs! Please be careful. Laxus used Organic Link magic,so whatever damage you inflict will be returned back to you!"_

"That's a troublesome ability," Naruto said, "for everyone who uses magic. _Erza, tell everyone that I'll stop Thunder Palace. Don't shoot any magic at it or I might get hit." _

Before Erza could answer in protest, Naruto used the Body Flicker Technique to reach a lightning orb. He didn't have enough explosive tags on his own, but that's what clones were for.

His clones hopped around on the orbs until every orb was occupied by one clone. They each day an explosive tag on it and dispelled, destroying each one. The original Naruto was the last to destroy his orb. He jumped off of it and, mid-freefall, spun and the an exploding Kumari at it.

'The orbs are gone, but how am I gonna land without breaking my legs?' He spotted a slanted roof and created a clone to throw him towards it. His feet made contact with the roof and he slid down the edge. All the way down. He lost his balance and feel into a trash pile.

"I never claimed to be the most graceful ninja," he said as he stood and dusted himself off.

**'I'm ashamed to be sealed inside of you,'** teased Kurama.

'Last time I checked, a 16 year old brat beat your ass and took your chakra.' With that, the fox growled and stopped talking. Naruto began running to the cathedral where Natsu was fighting.

**'Naruto,'** said the fox.

'What? You still wanna try to make fun of my coordination?'

**'No, dumb human. I feel a demonic energy to the west. Two, to be exact. They're just on the other side of town.'**

'Demonic energies?' Naruto changed course and headed in the direction Kurama had pointed out. 'Who could it be?'

* * *

New Battlefield

* * *

Two figures flew through the air at high speeds, cladding and matching each other's attacks. 'Is that Mirajane? I didn't even know she still had power like this,' Naruto remarked as she sent Freed tumbling into a cave.

**'To think that the sweet young girl that serves you ramen everyday is a demon possessed berserker.'**

'What makes you think she's possessed? We're new to this world. For all we know, she may have been born with demon powers.'

**'Like you, right? Except, in your case, your magnificent powers were forced ion you as a newborn. If only you'd listened to me when I told you to let me out. I would have destroyed everyone who had hated you then.'**

'We both know that the real reason you'd destroy everything is because your a bitter old fox,' Naruto replied, snickering.

**'I have every right to be bitter. You never let me or so I can have some fun. Are you that worried that people would find out about me? Are you scared that they'll alienate you like when you were younger?'**

Naruto thought for a moment while watching the explosive battle before him. 'I'm not worried about how they'll treat me. I'm worried about how an evil person could use you. Don't tell me you've forgotten about Madara and the Akatsuki.'

Kurama growled.** 'I won't ever forget that vile flesh bag. Back to the matters at hand. I find this girls powers interesting, so I want you to find time to talk to her privately.'**

'You're talking like I'm just gonna do what you say.'

**'You not doing what I suggest is only gonna prolong the inevitable. I can assure you that she has sensed me. She's more observant than she acts.'** Naruto thought for a moment before wordlessly complying with the fox, then his eyes returned to the battle.

'Where did they go?' He looked around for Mira and Freed and saw that they were both back in their normal forms. Their battle was over, and Naruto missed it. 'I'm gonna have to make my clones watch other battle if I plan to talk to Kurama while it's happening. I always miss the good stuff.'

He stood from behind the rock he was next to and made his way toward Mira and Freed, who seemed to be talking about something now that the battle was decided. Cans and Elfman got to them a few seconds before him.

"Mirajane! Are you okay?" asked Elfman frantically.

"Don't worry. I'm fine," she said. Moments later, she lost consciousness. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground.

"Don't worry. She's probably just exhausted." Elfman would have carried Mira if he wasn't already carrying Cana. Naruto made a clone to carry Freed and they made their way back to the guild hall.

* * *

Guild Hall

* * *

They entrees the guild hall to find Makarov sitting on the balcony. "Bring them to the infirmary so they can rest." Naruto and Elfman nodded and dropped each mage into their own bed. The two young men walked back to where Makarov was when Elfman spoke up.

"Naruto, thank you for saving my sister. You are a real man!" He yelled his words loud and proud and caught Naruto in a tight, manly embrace.

'This guy acts similar to Bushy Brows Sensei.' Naruto smiled and prayed Elfman on his shoulder. "Don't mention it."

They went back up to where Makarov was and looked at the cathedral with him. "Master," Naruto started, "the runes are down, so why don't you go to stop Laxus?"

"That would be disrespectful to Natsu. He would think that I see him as to weak to handle a fight. Erza is there to help, so everything will be fine." Just as the words left his mouth, a large, golden, magic circle formed above the cathedral. Makarov's eyes widened at the patterns on the circle.

"What is it? What's going on?" Elfman asked. Naruto's facial expression mirrored Elfman's question. What was about to happen?

Makarov stood. "Laxus!" He jumped from the balcony and sped towards the cathedral. Naruto and Elfman looked at each other in confusion, then followed after Makarov. Whatever was happening right now was no joke.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter! Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Did you like how Naruto handled his fight? Let me know in the review section! Check out YamiSaku's story, Higher Power!**


	6. Overwhelming Power

Naruto and Elfman followed after Makarov without much success. The man stretched his legs with his Titan Magic and was already halfway there. Naruto could have matched and even surpassed Makarov's speed, but he didn't want to just leave Elfman behind.

As they ran, Elfman spoke up. "I wasn't completely sure before, but now that we're closer, I can tell that the magic is a spell called Fairy Law. Master used it on Phantom Lord's guild master when they attacked us."

"I see." Naruto kept running and thought for a moment before speaking again. "Laxus is about to use it on us. Is there a way to stop it?"

Elfman shook his head. "Not that I know of. I've only seen Master use it once." Naruto nodded and kept running.

'I don't have time to go back into Sage Mode and use Rasenshuriken. Even if I did, I'm not even sure if the magic circle is tangible.' He decided to trust Makarov to handle it.

They arrived at Caldia Cathedral a little while after Makarov, and found that he was shouting at a maniacal Laxus. "Have you lost your mind, Laxus?"

Laxus grinned as he held the golden orb of light. "No, old man. I've simply found what true strength is. Fairy...LAW!" With what seemed like a strain in his voice, he covered the orb between his hands and the magic circle above them released a blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes and trembled in fear of what was coming.

The light subsided after a few moments and everyone slowly opened their eyes. Nothing had changed. Nothing was damaged and nobody was hurt.

Naruto looked around at Makarov, Erza, then Laxus, who was looking at his hands with disbelief. "How did I fail? My Fairy Law was perfect! Why didn't it work?"

"It's because Fairy Law targets those people you see as enemies," explained Makarov. "Deep in your heart, you can't see Fairy Tail as your enemy."

Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead. He almost thought he was a goner. 'Cowardly human. You could have had your way if you had used my chakra,' said Kurama.

'I know, but I don't real want everyone to know that I have a demon sealed inside me. The people in this world seem more accepting, but you can never know what somebody really thinks about you.'

'Speaking of demons, don't forget to talk to that demon girl soon.' Naruto mentally nodded and their conversation was over. While in his mind scape, the guild members had already begun walking back to the guild. Laxus willingly went back with Makarov, having lost his will to fight.

Naruto looked around. 'I need to figure out how to stay perceptive when I talk to Kurama.' He saw that everyone was walking away, but he felt like something was missing. He walked into the cathedral and saw two figures. The smaller one was trying to carry the bigger one, who was unconscious.

"Ah! Naruto, can you please help me carry him?" Naruto nodded and took Gajeel from her.

"Everybody just left you to carry someone twice your size?" Naruto asked.

Levy nodded. "They don't trust him. They probably assumed he'd carry himself to the guild."

Naruto looked at Levy for a moment. He could see that she was angry about everyone's attitude towards Gajeel. "Then, since you were trying to help him, does that mean you trust him? It was your team that he hurt. How are you able to forgive him?"

"Is because he's made up for it. He took a beating from Jet and Droy, saved me from Laxus, and still gets hated by the guild. Hopefully they'll realize that he isn't a monster."

Naruto grinned. 'She thinks a lot like the Third Hokage. If everyone back home had her attitude, it would be peaceful.'

* * *

They reached the guild, and Naruto brought Gajeel to the infirmary. "Thanks, Naruto. I'll bandage him up. You can go now." Naruto nodded. He exited the room and walked out to the guild hall. He was promptly met with a tense atmosphere.

Laxus had just exited Makarov's office. His eyes were glued to the ground. He made a beeline to the door. Naruto looked around and saw Erza. He walked over and took the seat next to her. "What do you think his punishment was?" he asked.

"Master had to kick him out of the guild," she answered solemnly. "As much as it probably pains him, he had no choice. It's sad, but after what he did, he deserves it."

Naruto saw Erza's jaw tighten. "I know how it feels when someone that you consider family has to leave," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "In my case, the person I saw as a brother went crazy and tried to kill me." Erza's eyes widened. "But that time passed and they became the person I remembered them as. Don't forget that deep down, Laxus is still a Fairy Tail mage."

Erza grinned. "Thank you Naruto. That means a lot." She stood and looked around at her guildemates. "Right now may be a difficult time, but we still have to finish the Harvest Festival. It starts at 9 tomorrow night." She walked away from Naruto and addressed everyone else in the guild, reminding them to be ready for the parade.

'Now your chance. Talk to Demonette,' suggested the Kyuubi.

'What kind of nickname is that? If I we're you, I'd stick to bring old and mean. And I can't go yet. I'm gonna knock out two birds with one stone. We'll talk to Mira and explain to Erza why I hold back.'

'Hm. Go on then.' The blond waved Erza back over to where he was.

"What do you need? she asked.

"You wanted to know why I hold back right?" Before she could answer, he was already walking towards the infirmary, leaving her no choice but to follow.

"Why are we going back here? Is it really that private of a matter?" Naruto nodded as he entered Mira's room.

"Naruto, Erza, what brings you here?" Mira asked as she put her lacrima aside.

"How are you Mira," asked Erza. "You used your magic for the first time in a long time. You must be exhausted."

Mira grinned and waved Erza's statement off. "I'm fine. I'm just a little bit tired, but not injured or anything. The guild doctor said I was cleared to leave when I felt like it."

"That's good to hear."

"So why are you two here?" Mira asked again.

Erza looked to Naruto, since she didn't even know. "Erza wanted to talk to me about some things, and I wanted to ask you about some things. It makes more sense for me too do both at once."

"That's all? Then take a seat!" Mira sat up and smiled at the two mages. Naruto took a deep breath and began.

"Mira, today when you used your magic, I felt demonic energy, and I was curious about how it works."

"How my magic works? It's simple really. I summon the soul of a demon into my body and gain is abilities. If the demon is strong, there is a risk that I could lose control though. It's essentially a partial possession."

**'Ha! I called it,'** laughed the fox. Naruto ignored him.

"So whenever you aren't using your magic, the demon soul is somewhere else? It's not bound to your body?"

Mira nodded with a grin. "That's right. It's the same magic Elfman and my late sister use." Her eyes focused on the ground for a moment, but she regained her cheerful demeanor momentarily. Naruto noticed this and decided not to pry.

"Thanks for being so willing to explain it to me, Mira. Now I'll explain my abilities." Erza and Mirajane perked up. Both of them were curious as to what Naruto's abilities were.

Naruto took a deep breath. "I'll start from the beginning. 17 years ago, in my homeland, which is in a different dimension, I was born." He paused and let that first part sink in. "In my world, there are 9 beings of unimaginable power. In order to maintain a power balance, each major nation was was given one of these beings, called tailed beasts." He took another pause. Mira and Erza were giving him their undivided attention.

"The best way to control their power was to seal them inside compatible human vessels. Each beast varied in appearance and the number of tails. My mother was the vessel, or jinchuriki of the 9 tailed fox. On my birthday, an evil man took the demon out of my mother and used it to attack my village. My father, the village leader, stopped him. My mother, due to the tailed beast extraction, was domed to die, so, with his last bit of energy, sealed the beast in me." He stood up and showed them the seal on his stomach.

"Now, Erza. The reason I cannot fight at full strength is because of this demon's powers. Just like with Mira's magic, I gain the demon's powers. The other reason is that my world was often plagued with battle. It was kill or be killed. That was all is known until I was 16. If I fight at full strength, it's because there is an intent to kill. It's how I was trained to fight." Erza nodded slowly in understanding.

"Is there a possibility of the demon going on a rampage?" asked Mira. "If so, we've got to tell Master so he can prepare emergency procedures."

Naruto laughed. "There's really no need for all that. You don't trust my strength to keep him restrained?"

"Oh. No, I didn't mean-" Naruto stopped her.

"It's fine. But there is no risk of it rampaging and destroying a town. After I took his power, we gained an understanding and now we can switch between which one of us controls my body. Watch." Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. 'Kurama, don't try to freak them out, please.'

**'I won't say anything too strange,'** replied the fox.

Naruto's eyes opened, but to Mira and Erza's suprise, they were dark red, and his pupils had become cat like. The lines on his cheeks became more pronounced and his hair seemed coarser. "I am Kurama. This boy had been my prison since the day he was born."

The two girls stared at Kurama in silence. Kurama stared back.** "If you will not ask a question, I will. Are there other beings in this world that are as strong as I?"**

Erza and Mira stared before they realized that Kurama had asked them a question. "I-I can't say for sure. Dragons might be close, but no one had seen a dragon for years," explained Mira.

"Also, we haven't seen the extent of your powers. Care to demonstrate?"

Hearing Erza's challenge, Kurama grinned, showing Naruto's canines. **"Is there a remote place that I can decimate without consequence?"** Then Naruto switched back.

The blond sighed as if his workload had just grown. "Great job Erza. I'm not gonna hear the end of this until we get this 'demonstration' over with. He's too prideful to back down from a challenge." Naruto scratched the back of his head and sighed in annoyance. "We'll wait until after the Fantasia Parade, then we'll go somewhere remote and I'll show you or strongest technique."

Erza and Mira nodded. "Is it that destructive that you need to be in a remote place?"

Naruto looked at her and replied, "It's violently intense and very big. I'd rather not draw that attention to myself and destroy Magnolia." Naruto walked out the room with a comical frown on his face. Kurama was already excited. 'He's gonna keep begging for me to let him do it. Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight.'

* * *

Fantasia Parade

* * *

"What do you mean I _have _to be in the parade?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"I mean exactly what I said. As a member of Fairy Tail, you are required to be in the parade, unless I say otherwise," explained Makarov. Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and began walking away, mumbling something about troublesome.

"Don't be too sad, Naruto. We'll even announce you and Lucy as Fairy Tail's newest members! Don't you want to be recognized?"

Naruto turned around with his lower lip poked out. "That's low, old man." Makarov snickered mischievously. Naruto walked away, knowing he wasn't going to win that battle. He didn't have anything extravagant to wear, so he just did a transformation into his red Sage cloak.

He stood up on the float next to Lucy and it began its journey around Magnolia. 'Just smile and wave, Naruto. Smile and wave,' he thought to himself.

Naruto sighed in relief. The parade was finally over, and he was exhausted. Standing, waving, smiling, standing, smiling. He was sick of it all. He walked into his apartment and dove into his bed, and a few moments later, was sound asleep, only to have a horrible nightmare about standing, smiling, and waving.

* * *

Naruto woke up at around 10 a.m. He took a shower and headed to the guild for breakfast. On the way, he encountered a few random people who wanted his autograph. 'I haven't even done anything except be in a parade, and I already have fans?' He signed his name on the paper and was on his way.

Naruto entered the guild hall and went straight to the bar. He ate his ramen like he always did. In the middle of his meal, two girls came and sat next to him. "Hurry up and eat. If we're gonna make it to the 'remote location' you need, we're gonna have to leave soon," said Erza.

Naruto nodded begrudgingly and finished his food. He looked at Erza and Mira and said, "Lead the way."

As they left the guild, Naruto noticed some extra people walking along with them. The extras were Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Makarov. He ignored it for a moment, but when they followed all the way to the train station, he had to ask. "Are you guys going on a job together or something?"

"Nope. We're coming along with you to see how strong you are," answered Gray.

Naruto shot a look at Erza and Mirajane. "You just couldn't keep your mouths shut, could you?" They laughed at the blond's annoyed facial expression. "Hey! I'm not laughing!" This only served to make them laugh more, so Naruto decided to shut up.

They took a train out to a smaller town in the west. From there, they walked to the mountains north of the town. Naruto was bombarded with questions all along the way. Every answer he gave would lead to more questions. 'If Erza and Mira were gonna invite these guys, they could have at least explained everything to them. Master knows more than them, but he won't say a thing! Annoying old man.'

* * *

After a while of walking, they found themselves in a secluded valley. "Okay, Naruto. Do your thing," smiled Makarov.

Naruto answered back at him with a sarcastic smile, then turned to face the rest of the mages. "This first technique I'm going to show you is called Sage Mode." He closed his eyes for a few moments and gathered up Natural Energy. "This mode enhances my reflexes, strength, and speed. My perception and sensing abilities are also heightened." He then created three clones.

"This next technique is the strongest attack I can use while in Sage Mode. It's called Rasenshuriken." He and his clones began forming the technique. The air around them all was whizzing around, and a high pitched screech filled the air. Naruto finished forming the Rasenshuriken and threw it into some trees about 50 meters away. The technique hit the trees, expanded, and obliterated the trees and the ground beneath them, forming a large crater.

The other mages stood in awe. Master stood wide eyed at the sheer destructive power Naruto had displayed. "Naruto. Do me a favor and never use that technique. Fairy Tail already gets me in enough trouble when property is destroyed." Natsu laughed at this, since he was often the cause for trouble.

Naruto grinned. "If you thought that was bad, the next one will make you pee yourself." Naruto's eyes went back from orange to blue, showing that he had exited Sage Mode. He closed his eyes again in concentration. After a short moment, he was covered by the golden aura of his Nine Tails Chakra Mode.

"So warm," remarked Lucy.

"Golden flames!" exclaimed Happy.

"I need you guys to stand back." Everyone quickly gave Naruto the space he needed. After seeing his last attack, they didn't want to risk getting caught in the blast. 'Kurama, we should be able to transform since the seal is open, right?'

**'Yeah, it's possible. You're really gonna do a full tailed beast bomb? Who knew you were the type to show off.'**

'I'm not showing off. They want to see my full power, so I'm showing them. Now help me transform by being quiet!' Naruto stood still for a few moments while his friends looked on. He had a look of intense concentration on his face.

"What do you think he's going to do?" Gray whispered.

"Who knows? Just shut up and watch!" Natsu whispered back harshly. This would have started a fight in normal circumstances, but they were to exited to see what Naruto had in store.

No more than ten seconds later, their questions were partially answered. Naruto had changed forms completely. His golden aura exploded in size and took the shape of a large, nine tailed fox, while Naruto remained visible in the head of the fox. "Brace yourselves!" he shouted back at them.

Naruto then began accumulating chakra into a ball form. The Chakra orb floated in front of him, still growing in size. As soon as he finished forming it, he launched it at a mountain. The result was a massive explosion.

Everyone's gazes were interrupted by Naruto yelling for them to get down. Seeing his frantic shouting to take cover, the others followed suit, except for Natsu. A second later, the sound wave and shock wave had reached them. Makarov was astounded. 'His strongest attacks put him on par with-'

"A dragon," Natsu said aloud, finishing Makarov's thought.

The wind from the explosion was strong. Even at this distance, some trees were up rooted and sent flying. They kept their heads down until the wind had calmed.

"Naruto, you were this string and you didn't tell us?" Gray asked excitedly.

"Heh, well, I'm not really knew to show off-"

"Everyone, look," said Mirajane, pointing at the mountain that the attack had hit. The smoke from the explosion had just cleared enough so that that they could see the mountain. What suprised them was that a large chunk of the mountain was no longer there. They all looked back at Naruto in disbelief. He simply grinned back cheekishly.

The trip back to Magnolia was quiet. Natsu replayed the day's events in his head, so intent on experiencing again. His motion sickness had taken a back seat in his mind. It had been the closest thing to a dragon that he'd seen in years.

Naruto slept on the train ride back to Magnolia. Sure, he was a stamina freak, but that was his first time doing a full transformation and using the Tailed Beast Bomb. Something like that would exhaust anybody.

They reached Magnolia at about 5 p.m. The majority of their time away wad spent walking to and from the valley.

Makarov watched Naruto as they all entered the guild. 'This boy might very well be as strong as a dragon.' He smiled as he watched Naruto interact with the other guild members. 'As strong as he is, and he's still down to earth and humble. He had a great teacher.' He was a glad old man.

* * *

2 Weeks Later

* * *

Makarov sat in his office. Things had been normal for the last 2 weeks. Everyone was enjoying themselves and getting along. Most importantly, Natsu hadn't destroyed anything. Things were good. Then Makarov's communications lacrima rang. He answered it and saw that the council's messanger had called.

Makarov immediatly teared up. "I promise, it wasn't Fairy Tail this time! Just please don't punish me. I'll make sure to-"

"Master Makarov, calm yourself. I'm not calling you because your guild has destroyed something. We need your help." Makarov's face went from sad to suprised. "A certain dark guild is making moves towards a dangerous magic device."

Makarov became serious. "A dark guild? Which one? What's their objective?" he asked.

"Let me explain."

* * *

**That's it! I hope you enjoyed. I'm blown away with the support this story is getting. I'm doing my best to avoid spelling errors, but my phone's auto correct is out to get me. When I get my laptop configure, chapters will be more fluid and error free! **


	7. A Fly

**AN: Sorry for the delay. I finally got my laptop up and running, so I'm back in business. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Makarov called Team Natsu into his office the next morning.

"Damn it old man!" Natsu complained. "What's so important that we have to be here this early." His shenanigans earned him a firm handed fist and chastising from Erza.

"The council has a major issue that needs to be resolved," Makarov started. "I've chosen you all as Fairy Tail's delegates." Upon hearing that it was a mission from the council, the mages became more serious. "I'm not allowed to give you too many details, so you'll have to wait until you get to the meeting location to get the full briefing."

Gray laughed. "We're teaming up with other guilds? What's the point? As long as we have Naruto-"

"Naruto won't be there." This surprised them. "He has his own important mission to complete."

Natsu was about to protest but Makarov interrupted. "Don't think of this as your team being split apart. Both of your missions involve the Balam Alliance. As long as you are all working for the same objective, you're still teammates." 'I hope that'll satisfy him for now.'

"Um," Naruto began, "what exactly is my objective?"

"Like I said," Makarov explained, "I can't give up much detail. You'll find out when you get there. And for other reasons I cannot disclose," he said, reaching for the guild stamp eraser, "I have to erase your guild stamp." He then reached into a drawer and handed Naruto and Erza their own envelopes containing directions to their mission briefing locations. "I suggest you get going," said Makarov, before dismissing them.

Naruto exited the guild and read the contents of his envelope. It read, _'Go to the ruins of the old council headquarters. An informant is waiting.'_

'Sounds simple enough,' he thought.

**'As if anything is ever simply enough with you.'**

'Don't jinx me, stupid fox.' Naruto made his way to the train station and hitched a ride atop a train car to the dismay of

* * *

Naruto leaped off the train and came to a skidding stop. He found the rubble of the old council headquarters relatively easily and wandered in. 'Somebody did a really good job at wrecking this place. It'd take more than your run of the mill mage to destroy a building this big.'

**'Am I sensing worry? Is the savior of Konoha scared?'** Kurama teased.

'Why is all of your time devoted to annoying me? Don't you have better things to do?' Naruto asked.

**'Nope. In case you forgot, I'm trapped inside your body. Watching you hardly live life isn't exactly amusing.'**

'Are you trying to call me boring? From what I know, Tailed Beasts just sit around and sleep when they aren't confined to a human. What's so different now?'

**'...Touché.'**

Naruto pushed the fox's pointless ramblings to the side while he walked through the old, torn down corridors of the council building. It was a maze of rubble and cracked pillars that looked ready to crumble at any moment. The building itself looked strange. It took on the appearance of an old building that had simply aged and fallen, not one that had been destroyed. A thin layer of dust covered the artwork that adorned the walls.

Naruto trekked as far as he could before reaching a dead end. He looked around the dark the dark room for any sign of movement when a noise alerted him.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" The blade poised at Naruto's throat showed the seriousness of the situation. Naruto turned his palms up as a way to show that he wasn't a threat.

"Who else would I be?" he asked, showing his guild mark. "My question is, who is the person holding a knife against my neck?"

The person paused before pulling the knife away. "I'm merely a fly on the wall." The cloaked figure slipped a note into Naruto's pocket, who was still turned away. "Keep following the trail that's laid out for you and you'll know that I'm the right person to be in touch with."

This statement was followed by silence. Naruto turned around and found that the "fly on the wall" had already left. 'This is some shady business.'

'Things are getting interesting, kid. I'm feeling content with just watching,' remarked the fox.

'It's easy to watch. You're not the one who has to go on a million errands before even knowing what his mission is about. I'm tired of all this secrecy.'

'Hm. If you hadn't grown up like a brute, you may have learned how to appreciate a little depth. I see why Kakashi favorite Sasuke.'

'Whatever,' Naruto thought as he left the compound.

"Hey! What were you doing in there! This area is forbidden to citizens!" The guard, a Rune Knight, began approaching Naruto. He took hold of a surprised Naruto's jacket and began restraining him, only for The orange clad boy to disappear into smoke.

"I'll probably hear about this soon,' Naruto thought as he fled across the city's rooftops. He stopped after a short while and read the note he'd gotten from the mystery man. 'Or was it a woman? There's no way to tell. Not that it matters.'

_'Behind the post office, near the northern entrance of this town, there is a package you absolutely must pick up. Show the manager the symbol on the back of this note, and he'll give you what you need.'_

'Sounds simple enough,' he thought, glancing at the heart shaped drawing on the note.

* * *

Naruto left the post office carrying a small box. It was getting dark at this time, so he bought a room at an inn for the night.

"Let's get this thing open."

**'Who are you talking to, brat?'** asked Kurama.

'I'm talking to myself. You'll be doing the same for the rest of my life if you continue to insult me.'

**'I wouldn't mind some silence, actually. It's better than hearing you beg for help anytime things get hard.'**

'Oh, Kurama!' Naruto exclaimed, feigning sorrow, 'You don't have to act tough for my sake! My poor fox!'

**'Bah! You win this time, kid.'** Naruto grinned victoriously as he looked into the box. Inside was yet another note, and, a ball?

Naruto picked it up and was surprised by how solid it was. He sat it aside and picked up the slip of paper.

_'Instructions: Pour magic energy into the lacrima. It'll turn on and allow us to communicate.'_

Naruto sighed in frustration. How was he going to finish the mission if he couldn't even turn this thing on? He racked his brain for a solution. Then it hit him. If he used Sage Mode, he could absorb magic energy into his body and transfer it to the orb. 'But it can't be that easy. Last time I used Sage Mode, it worked the same as it always has. Nothing felt different.'

**'It felt the same because you weren't looking for anything different about how it felt,'** Kurama mentioned.** 'This world has magic particles mixed in with its Natural Energy. Didn't you pay attention to anything Makarov said?'**

'So I should be able to filter the particles out?' Naruto asked, ignoring the fox's jab.

**'Exactly, if you can manage a little finesse for once.'**

'I'm gonna let that slide,' he said as he took on a meditative posture. He started taking Natural Energy into his body, focusing on the feeling and quality of the energy entering his system. He felt a slight strangeness about the energy and focused on it. He held on to it an let the Natural Energy leave his system. 'This should work.' He grabbed the orb and pushed the unfamiliar energy into it, and it glowed in appreciation.

**'I'm surprised he actually managed to do it. Ever since he learned Sage Mode, he's-'**

"Hello, Naruto Uzumaki," spoke the silhouetted figure on the lacrima.

"Um, hello?"

"Speaking to you this way is more convenient for me and the secrecy of your mission. I've kept the wool over your eyes all this time, so I'll get straight to the point." Naruto sat up in his seat. "You'll be infiltrating the dark guild of the Balam Alliance, Grimoire Heart. A member of the guild has already noticed you, or should I say, the large amount of raw energy inside you. You will only have to wait for them to seek you out, and once they do, you'll be taken on their ship."

Naruto looked into the lacrima and asked, "What exactly and I supposed to find out when I get in?"

"That's up to you. The would like to know as much as they can about them. Once you think you have enough dirt on them, you can terminate the mission," explained the mysterious figure.

Naruto was quiet for a moment while he thought of anything else he might need to ask. "Sounds good, I guess. When this mission is over, will I find out who you are?"

The person laughed and answered, "I have a feeling we'll meet before that. And lose the headband." Then the lacrima shut off.

'Lose my headband? Yeah right.'

* * *

5 Weeks Later

* * *

Naruto woke up on a bed in a small room which lacked a window. A familiar heart symbol caught his eye and he realized that they had finally found him. He stood and walked over to the mirror on the wall. He stared at it and thought, 'This would be a lot easier if I looked a little menacing. Too bad I can't toggle those red kyuubi eyes.'

**'Actually, kid, that is very possible.'**

'Wait. Are you serious? Why didn't you ever tell me this?' Naruto asked in surprise.

**'Because until now, you never had any use for it. All I have to do is push some of my chakra out of the seal opening and into your eyes. That way, I can inject some of the hatred I have for humans.'** Naruto was taken by surprise when he saw his eyes shift from blue to blood red in a split second. **'I can make you look just like you would if my chakra had overtaken yours. Red eyes, rough hair, sharp nails, pronounced canines, you name it.'**

'Why do I get the feeling that you've done this before?'

The fox laughed. **'Because I have. Why do you think complete strangers called you a demon child?'**

'Oh yeah? Well, this demon child beat your ass and took your chakra. How about we make a deal so you can avoid more ass whoopings in the future? You only do that little eye trick when I need you too. Deal?'

Kurama frowned at Naruto's smugness, but agreed.** 'I've got a better idea. I'll give you some of my hateful chakra so I don't have to worry about timing your "transformation".'**

'I like the way you think.'

Naruto's alone time was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Our master would like to see you." Naruto opened the door and followed the grunt through some hallways that eventually lead to a large room with a glass ceiling. It was at this time that Naruto noticed that they were on an airship. A _huge _airship.

'I know two people who would be puking right about now,' he thought to himself. He looked around the room, but he only saw a tall, old man sitting in a throne-like chair at an end of the room.

"Hello there," the man said from his seat. "I am Master Hades."

"I'm Naruto. Can I ask why you brought me here?"

"Ah. An upfront young man, I see. I have brought you aboard my ship because you interest me, Naruto. What brings you to Earthland?"

"I'm really just trying to find a purpose for myself." Not totally a lie.

"Would you care to tell me a little about how you plan to do so?" asked Hades, stroking his beard.

"It depends. Are you saying that you could help me?" Naruto asked, folding his arms.

Hades grinned. "I believe I could do much more than help you. But first, would you care to tell me about yourself?"

Naruto paused before speaking. "I'll try to be quick. I'm 17. I like ramen and fighting. My favorite color is orange, and I dislike the people who mistreated me as a child."

"Mistreated? In what ways?" Hades asked, interested.

"Well, I made a mistake like any child that age does, and I got labeled as a demon for it. Everyone in my village, young and old, rich and poor, hated me for something I didn't mean to do." Naruto decided to put some of the fox's chakra into his eyes.

Hades watched on as the boy ranted about his childhood. His interest was peaked when the blonde's blue eyes turn an ominous red. 'Now that sure is interesting. Could that be a side effect of his anger?'

Naruto noticed this and decided to continue the act. "I just want to-ugh!" He gripped the side of his head for effect.

Hades stood and walked over to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure that with the help of Grimoire Heart, you'll be able to take revenge on all the people who looked down upon you." Naruto let his eyes return to their blue color to show that he had calmed down. "Once we create the perfect magic world, no one will look down on you ever again. Do you think you could help me do that?"

Naruto looked up at the man and grinned. "It would be my pleasure."

"That's good to hear," the old man replied. He turned around and nodded to a man who hit a switch in response. A small section of the floor opened up and allowed 5 armored men to enter the room. "I need an idea of how strong you are. Defeat them however you see necessary," Hades added, returning to his seat to observe.

Naruto turned his attention to the 5 men who were sprinting towards him. He dodged each attack and jumped away to look at them. 'The old man from Ichiraku Ramen could beat these guys with chopsticks! This is hardly a test!' He dashed at the men and, in a quick series of punches, throws, and kicks, had ended the "test."

Naruto looked at Hades, who now sat with 7 new people standing behind him. Hades grinned and pressed another button on the arm of his chair, and another wave of enemies came to greet the blond.

Now faced with about 40 enemies, Naruto decided to even the odds with a few shadow clones. While they handled business, the real Naruto spoke to Hades and said, "I hope they're not the best you have. I'm disappointed."

Hades laughed. "So you want a real challenge? Go ahead, then. Chose your opponent," he said, grinning.

Naruto looked at his options. A large man with messy hair, a humanoid goat, a pink haired girl, a man with glasses, a woman in a red dress, a young man with wild, blond hair, and a calm man with dark skin. 'This is hard. Most of them look strong, and if they don't look strong, they look crazy.' "I choose him," he said, pointing at the tall, dark man.

The man walked down to where Naruto was. "I would introduce myself, but I believe you should earn the right to know my name. Show me that you deserve to be here." Naruto grinned. He was reminded of an exchange between Sasuke and Neji when this man spoke. He crouched into a battle ready posture and zoned in on his opponent.

Naruto decided to take the initiative. He rushed the man with a flurry of attacks, but they were expertly deflected. The man side stepped Naruto's axe kick and countered with a kick of his own. The teen was knocked back, but he remained on his feet. Naruto's eyes met with the still gaze of the man before him. 'He's as calm as can be. I'll have to change that.'

The man's eyes widened when the blond teen came at him with more speed than before. 'Is he finally getting serious?'

Naruto launched a fist at the mage's stomach, but it was deflected downwards. He planted his hand on the ground and used his momentum to swing his heel over and into the face of his enemy. 'He'll definitely feel that.'

The green clad mage grinned. "I want to congratulate you. It's been a long time since someone got my heart pumping. But I think it's time to turn it up a notch. Don't you agree?"

Naruto grinned back and nodded as he reassumed a fighting stance. This time, Naruto was on the defensive. 'How good is this guy? He's gotten faster and stron-' His thoughts were interrupted by the fist that had buried itself in his gut, knocking him away from the man who delivered it. Before the mage could continue his attack, the blond created some shadow clones who when straight at the man.

"You've got to do a lot more than make some clones to affect me," he said. "Bleve!" he yelled, and the clones were engulfed in an explosion. "This battle has gone past hand to hand combat. Show me what you are capable of."

Naruto stood and ran at the man, forming some clones to attack with him. "I already told you. Your clones won't work." He want straight at Naruto and sent an elbow at his chin, which connected, sending Naruto skidding away. To everyone's surprise, the Naruto that they thought was the original had burst into smoke. Shortly after, a blue orb was rammed into the man's back.

Naruto panted as he looked down at the man on the ground. The man, surprisingly still conscious, rolled over and looked the blond in the eye. "I admit defeat. You are a worthy opponent." Naruto grinned and helped the man stand back up before turning his attention back to Hades.

"Have you seen enough?" he asked.

The guild master nodded and a guard showed Naruto the way back to his room. When teen was out of earshot, he spoke. "Our cause clearly has the approval of the universe. If we can get him to buy into our ideals completely, then he will be instrumental in the awakening of Zeref. There is no light guild that could hope to oppose us."

* * *

Some weeks passed without much activity, so Naruto spent time waiting for any orders from Hades. When he wasn't getting acquainted with the 7 Kin, he was asleep, and when he slept, it was a deep sleep. Maybe it was the light sway of the airship. The dreams he had could only be described as a puzzle. He saw a spider carrying a city, but the weight of the city broke its legs. Then he saw the Tower of Heaven and Jellal. He saw two Fairy Tail Guild Marks, one red, one blue, fight a golden crown. When the red guild mark went to leave, a piece of the blue mark broke off and followed the red mark.

Lastly, He saw a fly on a wall.

'What the hell was all of that?' he thought as he stretched. 'I feel like that all involved Fairy Tail, but-'

**'Don't waste your time trying, kid. Interpreting dreams isn't your thing,'** advised the fox.

'Yeah, I guess, but I can shake the feeling that something must've happened. And the "fly on the wall." how is that person related to Fairy Tail?' He pushed the dream aside and took a shower before leaving his room. He found his way to the main room where Hades and some of the other members were waiting.

Naruto greeted them and spoke. "Master Hades, wh-"

"Naruto. Your time has come. We have located the last 'key' to awakening our master."

"You described that we need to find some keys, but who is your master?" Naruto asked.

The man grinned. "You'll understand fully in due time, but right now, we must retrieve the key. Prepare for the invasion of Tenrou Island." Naruto looked out on the horizon and saw a tall, tree shaped silhouette. "You'll follow Ultear to find the key. Everyone who isn't here is on the island, awaiting my order to begin attacking."

"So there's mages already there? Who are we up against?"

"Fairy Tail," answered the man. Naruto's heart dropped, but he didn't show it. He could only nod in acknowledgment to hide his true feeling of anxiety.

'This mission is going to end today. There's no way I can help them fight Fairy Tail.' He was snapped out of his thoughts when Ultear spoke to him.

"We have to stay on the ship for now. Just be patient."

'Patient? Easier said than done. What the hell am I supposed to do? Should I destroy the airship before we get there? Would I be able to if I tried? There's no telling how strong this chick is, not to mention Hades!'

"Are you scared?" Ultear's voice ripped him back into reality again.

'Scared isn't the word' is what he wanted to say. "No, not all. I'm just a little jittery."

She giggled. "You can handle yourself. You're as strong as the 7 Kin."

They were interrupted when Hades opened the glass ceiling. "We are here," he said as he put on a helmet. In front of the ship stood a giant Makarov Dreyar. Hades started to speak, but was interrupted by his huge fist destroying one of the airship's engines.

Ultear extended her arms and yelled, "Time Ark! Restoration!" and within seconds, the damage had been repaired. "Let's go, Naruto. This fight is between them." Naruto nodded and they left. They walked straight into the forest, hearing various explosions from the battles being fought around the island. Ultear paused and suddenly changed direction. "I sense him this way."

"Who? Your master?"

Ultear smiled. "Yes. The Black Mage Zeref." Naruto had heard the name before. Apparently he had the ability to create incredibly powerful demons.

**'Sounds like the Old Man,'** Kurama thought to himself.

"What's the plan once we awaken this guy?"

"_I'll _use him to create a new world."

Naruto noticed her use of 'I' instead of we. "So you have your own plans that don't align with Hades'? How do you know I won't tell him. Why are you trusting me with your secret?"

Ultear laughed then looked Naruto in the eye. "I'm the fly on the wall." Naruto looked back, confused, while his brain processed everything involving this mission.

"Why are you trying to find Zeref if you're a spy for the council?"

"I don't have the time or the energy to explain, nor do I want to. I wouldn't consider us allies either, so I suggest we part ways here. I'm sure you're worried about your friends."

Naruto glared back at Ultear. 'What is she after? Does she really think I'll just let her walk away?' Naruto was about to attack her, but she shut that down. Using her magic, she caused sapling trees to grow all around him, entrapping him.

"Forgive me, Naruto, but I cannot afford to lose. The new world is everything to me." And with that, she left him.

* * *

**AN: That's it for this one. Is it moving too fast? I've been gone, so it wouldn't have felt right if I gave you a chapter where the plot progressed at a snail's pace. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Awakened

**I'm back with another chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Naruto struggled against the thick branches that entangled him, finally freeing himself. 'Ultear's probably long gone by now. I can't let her get to that Zeref guy.' He closed his eyes and gathered up Natural Energy to enter Sage Mode. He was soon surprised by the speed that he was able to absorb enough Natural Energy. He felt an energy radiating from the large tree at the center of the island. 'That tree is the opposite of the Tower of Heaven. It's saturated in Natural Energy.'

Stretching his senses out even further, he felt the energies of everyone on the island. He felt each member of Fairy Tail, but near to each of them was an unfamiliar energy, most likely mages from Grimoire Heart. He decided to go to Makarov, whose energy was very faint. Naruto ran through the trees with little difficulty. It was something he was used to, being from a village in a forest, after all. His eye caught a glimpse of a red smoke pillar. 'I can sense Erza in that direction.' He resisted the urge to change course and went to Makarov.

He found the man faced down on the ground, barely clinging to consciousness. "Master, I nee-"

"Please make sure everyone is safe, Naruto. All that matters is that my children are okay," Makarov said between coughs.

Naruto nodded and picked the man up. "I will once I get you to safety. Everyone would hate me if I just left you here." Naruto felt for any nearby energies. 'I sense Levy and Gajeel not too far from here. They should know what that flare means.' He decided to go straight to them.

He found Levy carrying an exhausted Gajeel. 'She's stronger than she looks.' "Hey, Levy, need a hand?"

Levy looked up. "It would be _much _appreciated." She let him carry Gajeel while she carried Makarov. "Thanks a lot, Naruto."

"No problem. Where exactly are we going, anyway?" he asked.

"Erza told me to take Gajeel to a spot on the southeastern side of the island," she replied. "Apparently it's out of sight, so we won't have to worry about a surprise attack. Everyone was told to go there if they saw the red flare."

"I see." They walked beside each other in silence before Levy spoke again.

"From what I heard, you're on some top secret mission."

"I was. It's a long story," he replied.

"I wonder why you suddenly reappeared when Grimoire Heart attacks us. Seems like too much to be a coincidence," she said, eyeing him suggestively.

"So you figured it out, huh?" She nodded. "I guess it doesn't matter now, since the mission is over." Shortly after, they reached their destination. Mirajane, Elfman, and some others were already there recovering. Naruto placed Makarov on a mat and let an unfamiliar girl tend to him. She bore a resemblance to Mirajane. 'Something must've happened when I was gone. I'll find out about it later.' Being in the company of his guild mates, Naruto let his Sage Mode dissipate.

The somewhat safe atmosphere was rudely dissolved when a loud explosion shook the entire island. 'That didn't sound good.' Naruto's thoughts were validated when the giant tree began to sway dangerously. The blond reentered Sage Mode and started towards the huge tree. 'I sense Erza and, Azuma?' He pushed his thoughts aside as he rushed in their direction.

**'Hey, brat.'**

'Not now, Kurama. Don't you see the situation we're in?'

The fox growled. **'You're the last person to be calling someone else unobservant. Just listen. The only member of Grimoire Heart that knows about your secret mission is Ultear.'**

'What are you getting at?' Naruto asked.

**'That means that Azuma doesn't know about your affiliation with Fairy Tail. You can get close to him and surprise him.'**

Naruto nodded mentally. 'Thanks for the tip.' The two mages came into view, and Naruto jumped up next to where Azuma was standing.

"Yo. Need any help with her?"

The man relaxed slightly upon seeing a familiar face. "No, thank you. This fight is for my enjoyment."

"It's fine. I insist!" Naruto said as he launched a straight jab into the Azuma's side. Naruto retreated to where Erza was and spoke. "It's too complicated for me to explain right now. Long story short, I'm a double agent."

Erza nodded. "That's enough explanation for me. What matters is how we're going to defeat him."

Naruto held a kunai in his hand and got into his usual fighting stance. "I've fought him before, but he hardly used his magic then. You probably know as much as I do." The two stood and watched as the man in question picked him self up, the bruise on his side beginning to become visible.

"Of all people, you, Naruto? Today is my lucky day!" Azuma said with a grin. "There's no question that you two will push me to my limits." He landed back onto the tree trunk behind him and disappeared into it.

"I can sense him!" Naruto threw a kunai at the Azuma's hiding spot, only for a branch to block the knife.

"He can control the tree, Naruto. He can manipulate parts of it and even use it to camouflage himself."

"Hm." 'Why do all the purple we fight have the most awesome abilities?' "Have you made any progress in getting past his technique?" Naruto asked the girl beside him.

"Some. He's not the type of fighter to make mistakes on his own though. You have to actually outclass him," Titania explained. "In any case, that's easier said than done."

"Right. Well, I guess we just have to put out heads down and do this. Ready?" Erza nodded and followed Naruto's lead.

"If you think I'll let you take the initiative, your sadly mistaken!" The man's words were followed by the tree shaking violently. Splintered wood threatened to prick Naruto and Erza's eyes. The shaking continued, shifting from short, quick shakes to long, drawn out movements. The trunk of the tree bent and creaked until, to Erza's horror, snapped. The tree fell slowly to the ground.

"Oh no," Erza murmured gravely.

"What is it? What's wrong? It's just a tree."

"No. It's not just some tree. This tree is connected to every member of Fairy Tail. It releases magic energy which helps our injuries heal. That's why master chose this island for the exam."

The dots seemed to connect in Naruto's mind. "I see. So everyone who had a bad injury in this attack might be in danger of dying."

Erza nodded. Her facial expression went from worried to resolved. "You go check on the others. I'll handle this."

Naruto, seeing the look in Erza's eyes, left her to her business with Azuma. The blond turned away and headed back to where the others were recovering. He dashed through the trees at a moderate speed, keeping an eye out for any enemies. He couldn't rely on Sage Mode anymore, since it had expired. He didn't have the time to gather up more natural energy now that the tree had fallen, so he just kept moving.

Mid stride, he was grabbed and pinned to the ground. "Sorry, Naruto. I need you to be quiet," a familiar ice mage whispered to him.

"Sorry, but you'll have to deal with whatever this is on your own. I need to-"

"They'll be fine. This matters more right now. Look." Naruto followed the mage's eyes and, to his surprise, found Ultear watching someone from behind a tree. "I don't know who she is, but the guy she's following seems important to her," Gray explained.

Naruto stared intently in Ultear's direction, only able to see a faint silhouette of the person she was following.'I have a bad feeling that that mysterious figure is Zeref.' "Gray. The woman is Ultear, a member of Grimoire Heart." Gray seemed to tense up upon hearing her name. "Right now, she's trying to capture the Black Mage, Zeref, and use his powers for her benefit."

"Then how are we gonna handle this?" Gray asked.

Naruto thought for a moment. "One of us will have to stop Ultear while the other confronts Zeref." Naruto looked up towards Ultear and noticed that she was approaching Zeref. He nearly stood up to stop her, but Gray grabbed his arm.

"Let's just see what happens. I can't see anybody willingly let someone exploit their powers. If I'm right about him, he'll oppose it and they'll fight. If we're patient, they might do our job for us."

Naruto nodded. 'Damn, I'm glad Gray was here. There's no telling what would have happened if I'd rushed in.'

**'I can think of a few possibilities,'** the fox said.

'I don't wanna hear it.' Naruto shut the tailed beast out of his mind and focused on trying to read the body language of the two mages in front of him.

* * *

"If you don't leave now, I'll make you wish you did," Zeref said as a black orb formed in his hand. He tossed it as Ultear, who narrowly dodged the ball of death. Zeref formed another orb with no visible effort and flung it at her.

"Time Arc!" Ultear tried and failed to deflect his magic, which resulted in it blowing up in her face. She fell to her knees in exhaustion. 'I need to make sure he can't throw another one of those orbs!' She advanced the age of the saplings at his feet, allowing them to wind around him. Zeref muttered something from inside his wooden prison, and immediately after, a black wave of death shot out, destroying his "shackles".

Ultear's eyes widened upon seeing the wave of death hurdling towards her. She raised up her orb in desperation and absorbed it.

"What are you?" asked Zeref, surprised to see her still alive. Ultear, however, could not afford to waste time.

"Time Arc! Luminous Minutes!" Her single orb multiplied into hundreds and pummeled Zeref from all directions. Ultear, still gasping for air, was relieved to see Zeref fall to the ground, unconscious. "You may be the Black Mage, but in your 'sleeping state', you're nothing." She slowly walked over to him, picked him up, and was on her way.

"Let's follow her. When I was on their ship, I noticed that she had a very close relationship with another one of the guild members. She might meet up with that person before she leaves the island." Gray nodded and fell in line behind Naruto.

* * *

Erza panted as she looked at the man who lay at her feet. "It seems our bout must end here."

"Indeed," Azuma said in agreement. "I'm glad that I could fight a warrior such as yourself before my life's end."

"End? I'm not going to k-"

"My magic is a lost magic," he interrupted. "Excessive use of it will cause it to take over my body." As he spoke, his skin began to take the form of tree bark. The man looked around the area they'd been fighting. "All my life, I've lived to fight, to feel the excitement that it brings. Now that I look back, all it ever caused was damage to the things around me. Here I am, a user of Tree Arc magic, laying on top of a tree that I destroyed." He smiled wistfully.

"That's quite ironic," Erza said, with a small smile of her own.

"Yes, but hopefully in my last moment, I can make up for it." He brought his hands together above his chest. "Great Tree Arc. Restoration!"

Erza watched as the tree seemed to stand back up on its own. Chunks of wood came alive and melded back together, as if they were never separated. The mage only felt relief as magic energy flooded her system. Erza inhaled deeply, embracing the feeling that the supplementary energy gave her. She looked up at the tree with a smile. 'What death could be more appropriate.' She paid her respects and left, en route to the emergency camp where she hoped to find her friends.

Erza made a beeline for the beach where her friends were encamped, which she'd normally have avoided. It made more sense to take a difficult path just in case someone was tailing her, but she didn't have time for precautions. The fact that the tree was standing again gave her the confidence that she'd be able to handle another enemy if one should appear. Fortunately for her, one didn't. Finally, she reached the camp.

"Erza! Are you okay?" asked Levy.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. I need to know which members aren't here right now. It'll make it easier to find them if we know who to look for."

"Well, every member of Team Natsu is still somewhere on the island. Everyone else is here except for Cana and Juvia," the girl explained.

"I know where Juvia is. She should be fine."

* * *

Juvia fell down, completely exhausted. The pink haired girl across from her did the same, but exhaustion was only part of the reason. After hearing Juvia's words, the girl couldn't bring herself to continue fighting. She almost didn't realize how much impact her death would have impacted the one who she loved. As the water woman's words echoed in her head, it became more and more clear to her. As long as she loved someone, she should continue to live for them.

As the girl sat silently, a figure emerged from the forest. "Ultear? Who is that you're carryi-" the girl's eyes widened in realization.

"It is our master, Lord Zeref." She layed the man and began walking towards the unconscious woman on the ground. "Now that we have what we need, I'll make sure she won't be an issue in the future." She formed a sword of magic energy and was about to strike.

"If you care at all about this little girl, you'll step away from the woman you're about to kill."

Ultear froze mid-swing. 'Damn it, Naruto. You come around at the worst times,' she thought, gritting her teeth in anger. She turned around slowly and faced the blond, who had a knife at Meredy's throat. The young girl shivered at the cold feeling of steel on her neck.

"Ice Make: Avalanche!" Suddenly, Ultear was swept away towards the coast by Gray's ice.

As Gray ran to where Ultear was sure to end up, he and Naruto shared a look. No words needed to be spoken, but they both knew what it meant. _Handle business. _

Naruto pulled the knife away from the girl's neck and stood. "Sorry for holding you hostage like that. I hated to have to do that to someone so young." Meredy only stared at Naruto, her eyes not giving away what she was still feeling. "Look, you can make this a lot easier if you just surrender and come with me." When the girl stood, Naruto smiled. He picked up Zeref and made a clone to carry Juvia. He nodded at the clone and it picked Juvia up and went on ahead. Naruto would take his time, since he had a heavier load to carry, and because of the girl walking next to him. 'I doubt I'll be able to get any info out of her. She hardly spoke to me on the ship.'

They walked in silence, silence, and more silence, besides the sound of leaves crunching under their feet. Naruto glanced at Meredy periodically, but she was only looking straight forward. A few minutes from the camp, Naruto noticed that she was focused on a nearby cliff. He followed her eyes up and saw nothing but black flames coming at them, or, more appropriately, _him_, since Meredy was already running away. Naruto jumped back to safety, laid Zeref on the ground, and jumped back again to dodge a kick from Zancrow. 'Man, this guy annoys me.'

"Hahaha! Traitor! You didn't think I heard that you defected? In case you forgot, Grimoire Heart has more members than the 7 Kin. They're the ones who-"

"I don't care," Naruto said straight faced.

"Heh. you don't have to care. You'll be dead soon enough." Zancrow was about to shoot more flames at Naruto when Zeref made a groaning sound. He ran to Zeref's side to check on him. "Z-Zeref! Are you o-" Zeref began to stand up, all the while, staring Zancrow in the eye. The Black Mage's eyes flashed an ominous red and time seemed to freeze. Zancrow was dead before he hit the ground.

**'Oh shit.' **

'Did he just..' Naruto started.

**'That's exactly what he did. I don't know what happened, but he's not in that "hibernation state" anymore.'**

'No kidding,' Naruto gulped. 'Never mind Meredy, I've got to let everybody know what just happened.'

Naruto turned tail and ran as fast as he could to the camp to find that everyone was already gone. "What the hell? Can't they just sit still?" he thought as he sat down. He looked up at the tree and realized that Sage Mode was once again an option. Quickly entering said mode, he sensed where his guild mates had gone and rushed their.

'It feels like Cana and Natsu are fighting someone,' Naruto thought as he neared his friends. He focused on trying to identify who their opponent was. 'I remember the energy, but I don't remember anything about him. Regardless of that, Cana's energy is fading fast. I've got to hurry.' He pumped chakra into his legs and ran, his legs moving so fast that it was hard to tell if he was making contact with the ground.

* * *

"Ha. You expected an attack with a name as ridiculous as that to work on me?" Bluenote asked, laughing.

Cana panted, looking at her hands in defeat. 'Am I still too weak? How will i ever tell him if I'm so weak?'

"Cana! Get your head up! He's about to atta-" Natsu was interrupted when Bluenote sent him flying with his gravity magic.

"It's time for me to cut the wings off of you Fairies." Bluenote raised his arm, ready to strike, when Naruto appeared.

Naruto flew in from the cliff behind Bluenote and landed a kick to the back of the man's head. He scooped Cana into his arms and let his momentum carry them away.

"Naruto? Where did you come from?" she asked. "Where is Natsu? He was fighting with me."

"Don't worry. I sent a clone to catch Natsu." He looked in Bluenote's direction. "That guy isn't gonna let a kick like that keep him down for long. I sense the other's nearby. Go there and worry about how we'll handle Hades. I'll handle this guy."

* * *

"You'll handle him? Since when do you call the shots? Just let me help!" Natsu pleaded with the blond.

Naruto only shook his head. "As of right now, you fight too inefficiently. You'll end up using all of your energy if you fight him. Not to mention, you handicap yourself every time you fight someone."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll understand later," he said, turning away. "Some rules have to be broken in dire situations, Natsu." The blond jumped away, leaving a very confused Natsu behind.

**'Are you gonna kill this guy?' **Kurama asked.

'Do I have much of a choice? If someone is attacking me with intent to kill me, it only makes sense that I even the odds. If my opponent is weak, I can easily defeat them without spilling blood, but in a case where my opponent is strong, that would just make the fight unnecessarily long.'

**'I've never seen you make such an effort to be this efficient. You've really changed, kid.'**

'That's what happens when you see what war is like. I may have never experienced battle firsthand, but the clones I sent out saw enough for me to know what happens.' Naruto ended the conversation with Kurama as he approached Bluenote.

"Eh? What happened to the two I was just fighting? What did you do with them?" man asked.

"Don't worry about them. I'm your opponent now," Naruto replied, throwing a kunai at the man. He watched at the kunai simply curved to the ground. Naruto formed two clones, who ran at the man to attack him. As soon as they were close to him, they were pinned to the ground by an invisible force.

"I hope you can do better than that," Bluenote said.

"Don't worry. It'll get better in a second," Naruto replied, suddenly appearing at the man's feet. Before Bluenote could use his magic, Naruto's foot had already connected with his chin, sending him into the air. Naruto jumped after the mage and buried a fist in his stomach, sending him back to the ground below. 'He didn't use his gravity magic in the air for some reason,' Naruto noticed.

**'There's probably some condition that has to be met for him to use it,'** Kurama said.

'Most likely. I'll just have to do some more experimenting to figure out exactly what it is.' He formed more clones and continued his strategy until he'd finally figured it out. 'He has to be touching the ground for his magic to work!'

**'Okay, you figured it out, but he's not just gonna let you get close to him now. He'll just turn up the gravity at any movement you make.'**

'I've got something for that.' Just then, smoke puffed from the rocks under Bluenote's feet, revealing two of Naruto's clones. The first clone hit the man just hard enough that he was airborne. The next clone put all he had into his attack, launching Grimoire's ace high into the air. Before the man could get his bearings, he was engulfed by a mass of dense, screeching energy.

Naruto dispelled all the clones he used and breathed deeply in relief. 'Now that that's over, I'll get back to the others,' He thought, turning away from the scene before him.

From up on a cliff, an orange haired man watched in disbelief.

* * *

"Are you guys okay?"Naruto asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just tired," Levy replied. "We're doing a lot better now that the tree is back up."

"That's good," Naruto replied. "Where's Gray, Juvia, and Erza?"

"We're here," Erza said as she and the other two mentioned walked into the clearing. "I believe that means that everyone is here except for Gildarts."

"No. I'm here," the man said as he walked from behind a tree. He then eyed Naruto, which didn't go unnoticed by the blond.

"Good. Now that everyone is here, we need to think of how to handle Hades," Makarov suggested.

"Before we start," Naruto began, "I have something all of you should know." He paused as everyone looked at him. "Zeref, the one Hades is after, has awakened. I saw, with my own eyes, the Grimoire Heart mage named Zancrow get killed by only making eye contact with Zeref." Some mages around him gasped, while others looked down and frowned.

"If that is the case," Makarov began, "then we need to hurry and stop Hades before he can get his hands on Zeref." The old man closed his eyes for a moment before looking up. "If I call your name, you will be a part of the team to confront Hades!"

* * *

**AN: There it is. I hope you enjoyed! The story will start to divert from the canon plot line after the 7 year time skip. If you like thought provoking, gray Naruto fics, go check out YamiSaku's story, Higher Power!**


	9. Slumber

Makarov noticed the confused look on Naruto's face and waved him over. "There's a reason I didn't send you with that group. The only reason I can't do it myself is because of the injuries I got in my battle with Hades."

"So, what is it you need me for?" Naruto asked.

"He wants us here to protect everyone while they recover," Gildarts said as he approached the duo. "There's no telling if Grimoire Heart has anymore mages prowling the island."

"Exactly," Makarov said. "Just secure the area in any way you two see fit. If something happens, you two are the best mages to have around to handle it," he finished with a grin.

"You can count on us, Master," Gildarts assured.

The tall man began walking away, but Naruto stood still, looking Makarov in the eyes. "Is there anything in particular that you want us to do about Zeref?"

The mage was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Yes, actually. I want you to make an effort to _not _approach him. There's no reason to do anythong if he doesn;t come to us first."

Naruto nodded and joined Gildarts on a nearby rock. "Can you make more clones and get them to patrol the area?"

"Of course. How many do you think we need. 20? 30?" the blond asked.

"20 should be enough for now," Gildarts replied. He watched as Naruto formed the clones and took a seat while they spread into the forest surrounding them. "exactly how many of those clones can you make? You don't seem fazed at all from the ones you just made."

"Hmm I think I can manage around 150 right now." Gildarts seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded. There was a short silence until Naruto spoke up. "I noticed that you said 'more clones' a second ago. When did you ever see me use clones before? I'm sure we haven't met before today."

Gildarts laughed. "So you caught that, huh? Well, if you must know, I saw your fight earlier. You've got some powerful techniques up your sleeve. Your clones are a pretty convenient thing to have, too."

"You just watched? Why didn't you help out?"

"You didn't need it, obviously. At most, you got a few bruises in that fight. The other guy drew the short stick in fighting you," Gildarts said.

"Yeah, well, that's just how it happened." The blond paused as he thought of how to change the subject. "By the way, what kind of magic do you use?"

* * *

When Naruto made his clones, they all received the thoughts and feelings that he felt at the moment he created them. This allowed them to know what he wanted them to do without any words. They divided themselves into two groups. The large group of 20 clones would stay close and patrol the immediate area. The other ten would scout the island for any signs of Zeref.

One of the clones in the smaller group was headed back to where Zancrow had been killed in hopes of finding some clues to where Zeref had gone. Immediately after reaching the sight, he noticed Zancrow's body and walked closer. 'There's some faint footprints in this sand, but they're not visible in the grass.' The clone decided to gamble and follow the general direction of the footprints. He went at a speed much slower than he'd wanted, but the risk of actually encountering an awakened Zeref was too great.

'Still no signs of Zeref,' the blond thought. 'I probably shouldn't go into Sage Mode, since it might force the other clones to dispel, but I've got to try something.' He looked around to make sure he wasn't being watched them knelt beside a tree. He closed his eyes, placing his hand on the tree's trunk. Instead of bringing natural energy into his body, he simply let the energy continue its path around him. He felt the energy move around him like a river, flowing endlessly in the environment. He felt for any disturbances in the waves of natural energy, much like the sailors from the Land of Waves would read wave patterns to know their relative location to an island.

The clone opened his eyes once he was sure of what he felt. 'There's someone not too far away, but this method doesn't allow me sense people's energy, only the effect it has on the flow of nature.' The teen took a deep breath and began running toward the energy.

* * *

"I never would've thought we'd lose. Especially to them," Rustyrose said.

"Me either," Kain added.

"To think that Zeref was so close! It angers me to no end! The new era of magic was in our grasp!" Rustyrose said with his teeth clenched.

"Ones such as yourselves created me..."

"Who goes there?" a heavily bandaged Hades asked.

"Wicked minds such as yours summoned Acnologia.."

Hades' jaw dropped as the figure came into view. Kain and Rustyrose fell to their knees. "Zeref...is standing before my eyes? Is this a dream?" He stared a moment longer before barking an order to his subordinates. "The keys! Grab the keys!"

Kain and Rustyrose were still, frozen in fear. "There is no need," Zeref began. "I'm awake." Hades gasped. "I may not be one to talk, but how many lives did you take to obtain those keys? It's a tragedy. Those keys were merely illusions." Hades eyes widened, the confusion evident on his face. "It was only a tale made up by an old sect of wishful believers. I was never asleep in the first place."

"But I saw you! You couldn't even beat my subordinate!" Hades declared.

Zeref looked him in the eye. "To put it simply, I wasn't as capable back then. The number of wars and deaths I've seen in my life are innumerable. One day, I learned to value the lives of others. Ever since that day, the more I value life, the more my cursed body takes people's lives away, so I separated myself from society."

"So you were fighting while also valuing life?" Hades asked frantically.

"Yes, and because of that, I couldn't use my powers to the extent that I'd wished, but as soon as I forget the value of life," Zeref said as his body was surrounded by black energy, "my true power is awakened. Your evil doings are the cause of this. Acnologia will come forth and bring a new era."

"Acnologia? What are you-"

"So I will punish you," Zeref said as he raised his arms slowly.

"Wait! There's ting that I want t-"

"Your first sin was summoning Acnologia. Your second sin," he said as his hands converged, "was making me forget the value of life. Repent!"

* * *

Naruto smiled as his guild mates returned from their battle with Hades. "So how'd it go?" he asked.

Erza spoke up. "It went well, but it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Laxus," she said, looking at the blond.

"Laxus?" Makarov said. "You dare defy my orders? How could you step foot on this sacred land while you were expelled?"

"Quiet down, Old Man," Laxus said with a grin. "You could at least pretend you're happy to see me."

Makarov's eyes softened. "Well, I guess you did help out a lot with the battle, so I might be able to pardon your previous actions. Whaddya say?" Laxus' smile grew larger as he shook his grandfather's hand. Everyone cheered and was about to celebrate the mage's return when a terrible feeling blanketed the area.

"What the hell is th-" Naruto was interrupted as memories from one of his clones rushed into his mind. "Oh shit. That's not good." Everyone looked around trying to pinpoint what was causing the strange feeling they all felt. "Everyone, there's somethng headed towards the island. Something called Acnologia."

Makarov and Gildarts' eyes widened in realization.

"What the hell is an Acnologia?" Natsu asked.

"It's the name of the dragon who did this to me," he said gravely, revealing his prosthetic arm and leg.

The mages around them gasped. "A dragon? He'll probably know where Igneel is!"

"No! You will _not _try to talk to this dragon. There's a reason he's called the Dragon of the Apocalypse." Another rumble shook the air around them all.

"The same goes for you two," Makarov said to Gajeel and Wendy.

"Naruto, how do you even know this?" Erza asked.

"I had a clone tailing Zeref. He confronted Hades on his ship, blamed him for summoning Acnologia, and killed him for it." The girl's jaw tightened.

"There's no reason for Zeref to lie about that anyway," Gildarts said. "Besides, this feeling is the same feeling i had when I fist encountered him."

"So what do we do?" Lucy asked.

"We should combine our powers! Alone, we're nothing, but together, we'll stand a chance, right?" asked a hopeful Elfman.

"This dragon sees humans as insects. It'll squash us with no hesitation," Gildarts said. "Our best chance is to get as far away from this island as possible."

"Actually," Naruto said, "it's a little too late for that." Everyone followed the blond's eyes to the sky, where black, winged creature was approaching from over the clouds. The dragon dove down towards the island at incredible speeds, and just before it touched down, it spread its wings out wide and slowed its descent almost instantly. The mages on the ground below were almost blown away by the force of the winds that the dragon's wings had created.

"Everybody! Run!" Makarov yelled, activating his Titan magic.

"Master! Please, let us fight with you! We have three Dragon slayers. There's no way we can lose!" Erza pleaded.

"You would defy me in my last moments?" Makarov asked. Erza froze, the man's eyes piercing through to her soul. As much as she wanted to help, she had no choice but to obey him. The other members saw her running away and followed suit, albeit, very reluctantly. They all ran until Makarov and Acnologia were alone in their grapple. "Leave this island!"

The dragon was silent as he swept Makarov away. Makarov' s injuries had taken a toll on his Magic reserves, which became evident when he could no longer maintain his Titan magic. He flew back, but Naruto dashed in to catch him. "Naruto, I told you to leave," he said to the teen, who was shrouded in a golden aura.

"No, you told _them _to leave. I'm not a guild member right now. I'm a passerby doing a good deed." Naruto jumped to where the other members were and laid Makarov down. Turning back to the dragon, the blond spoke. "Leave this island now. We don't want any trouble." The dragon replied with silence. 'Fine then. I guess you'd rather talk with your actions. Kurama, you ready?'

**'I've been ready.' **Naruto nodded mentally and focused on his transformation. After a short moment, the nine tailed fox took shape around Naruto, who could be seen in the head of the golden fox. He ran at the dragon with quick strides and raised an arm to strike, but instead, he spun and hit the dragon with the full force of his tails. Acnologia managed to absorb the blow with his huge wings. Now, the dragon swiped at Naruto with the outside of his wing.

The attack would have sent naruto a good distance away, but his tails, which he had rooted into the ground, allowed for a quick recovery. The two traded blows for another minute when Acnologia flew straight up into the air. 'What the hell is he doing? Is he gonna leave,' Naruto thought.

**'It doesn't seem like it with all that energy he's gathering. I'm betting on a breath attack.'**

Naruto's eyes hardened. His fox form opened its mouth wide, where a dark ball of chakra began forming. Naruto condensed the chakra as much as he could and let it disappear into his mouth.

Light was gathering in Acnologia's throat, signalling that he was about to launch his attack as well. Time seemed to slow down. Sounds became dull, and the air, still. Acnologia launched his breath attack, and Naruto simultaneously released the pressure of his Tailed Beast Bomb, launching a beam at Acnologia.

The beams connected halfway between the two. The Fairy Tail mages looked on as light radiated from the beams' convergence. Then, the two contrasting beams began to mix, forming a large, bright orb. The orb grew larger, until t expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire island in light.

Moments later, the light subsided, revealing a crater where the island had been. Acnologia roared triumphantly and flew away.

* * *

Naruto sat up groggily and wipe his eyes. 'Damn. What happened?' He stood and looked around for his friends and found them all beginning to stir.

Erza's eyes fluttered then opened. She looked around and saw Naruto. "Did- Did we survive that?"

Naruto looked around and sighed with a grin. "I think we did, somehow."

As time passed, all the other members woke up from their slumber and gathered on the beach.

"The boat we came on is trashed," Gajeel said.

"That Time Ark magic would be really useful right now," Lucy added.

Everyone relaxed on the beach, happy to still be alive, and slightly less happy that they'd have to wait on the beach for who knows how long. Gray sat up and looked out to the horizon, squinting his eyes in an attempt to focus on the faintest silhouette. "Guys, look! There's a ship heading this way!"

The other mages looked out to sea, and sure enough, a ship was approaching the the island. "Finally, we're gonna get to go home!" Natsu said happily.

The inhabitants of the boat anchored it not too far from the shoreline. Everyone on the island, except for Naruto, who walked across the surface of the water, began swimming to the ship with excitement, but none of them were ready for what was waiting for them on the ship.

"Guys, we missed you so much! Jet said to the speechless mages before him, who stood dumbfounded by how much he'd aged. "After all this time, we finally found you!"

"Um, exactly how much time are we talking?" Gildarts asked.

"Well, you guys went missing in X784, so, it's been about 7 years."

After hearing that, there was no pair of eyes that wasn't wide with surprise. "7 year?" they asked simultaneously.

* * *

**AN: That's it for this one. I hope you all enjoyed!**


	10. Playing Catch Up

The Fairy Tail mages meandered about the deck of the ship, conversing happily. Their rescuers eagerly asked questions about what had happened during their time on the island.

"A dragon, of all things?" Jet asked in awe.

Natsu nodded with a huff. "Yeah. I tried to talk to it, but he just swatted at us."

"Master tried to buy us time," Levy added, "but with his injuries, he was no match, so Naruto stepped in."

Jets eyes widened as he turned to Naruto. "You fought a real dragon?"

"Eh, it wasn't anything too crazy. Everyone else fought him before me, but nothing worked. All I did was make him angry," Naruto said waving a hand. "We still ended up asleep for 7 years."

"Yeah, but it was still freaking awesome!" Natsu praised, slapping Naruto on the back.

'**How sweet,' **Kurama said with a mocking tone.

'Aren't you like 1,000 years old? I'd think that you'd be a little mature.'

'**You're one to talk, kid. You're 17 years old and your clothes still resemble the one's you wore at 12.'**

'Touché. What did you bring me down here for, anyway?'

'**Nothing major. I just noticed a subtle change in your chakra. It probably has something to do with the fact that that was only the second time you've used my chakra.'**

'That's it?' The fox nodded. 'Well, I'll let you know if I notice anything different later on.' Naruto turned his attention to the people around him, still recalling the events on Tenrou Island. He stood and climbed to the crow's nest atop the mast, letting the cool wind flow around him. His smile became evident as the unpleasant feeling of the sun's heat were carried away with the breeze. 'It's decided. I'm sleeping up here.'

* * *

"Naruto. Wake up. Naruto. Naruto!"

The blond jolted awake. A short moment passed and his vision cleared. "What do you want, Gray?"

"We've reached land, dude. Get off your ass!" Gray said with excitement. The ice mage jumped off the crow's nest down to the deck below. Naruto stood and stretched his groggy body before behind Gray. He immediately realized his mistake. When Gray jumped out, he held on to the ropes that lead down to the deck, but Naruto, in his haste, had forgotten how high up the crow's nest actually was.

"I wonder how much has changed in 7 years," Makarov said.

"A lot, actually," Warren began, "but not all of it is necessarily good for Fairy Tail."

The mages walked off their boat and into the port city of Hargeon Town. They were immediately greeted with looks of confusion from the people in the port town. "We're getting a lot of attention right now," Lucy said.

"Gihihi! They look like they saw a ghost!" Gajeel said with a laugh.

"Well, it has been 7 years," Makarov said with a stroke of his mustache. "Let's get back to Magnolia before this reaches the media. I don't want to deal with any large crowds right now."

The mages around him readily followed his advice and headed to the train station. The ride to Magnolia was a relatively short one, thanks to new, faster train models.

* * *

Everyone stepped off the train, only to find a crowd blocking their path. 'What the hell. I thought we left Hargeon Town to avoid this,' Naruto thought.

Makarov turned and spoke. "Don't say anything to the reporters. It would be best to keep all the details under wraps." The mages nodded and began their trek to the guild. Naruto stayed on the train and peeked through the window, picking someone in the crowd to transform into.

'I might be disguised, but following them would be useless, since the crowd is just gonna follow them, too.' He decided to make a detour to his apartment, or what he hoped was still his. He walked a good distance from the train and dispelled his transformation. He soon noticed that no one seemed to recognize him, even without the transformation.

'**You were never very exposed to the public eye,' **Kurama reminded him.

'Yeah, that sounds about right,' he replied with a grin. 'I can just rejoin Fairy Tail and it'll be like I was never there,' he thought, looking at his palm.

His old apartment building finally came into view. Naruto entered with high hopes, but left with a crushed ego. He was homeless once again. And the little bit of furniture he had had been auctioned to the highest bidder. The only thing that would be worse would be if his bank account was suspended. He hurried to the nearest bank.

"Mr. Uzumaki, there's good news and there's great news. The good news is that your account is still active." Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "The great news is that your account's interest compounded at 6% annually."

"Heh, you've gotta slow down a bit, ma'am. You might as well be speaking a different language," Naruto said.

"Well, to put it simply, you have more money than you started with. Explaining how interest works to you seems like a lost cause, no offense," the banker finished.

"None taken! That's all I wanted to hear anyway," the blond said as he left the bank. 'This is awesome. I'll probably be able to find a better place than last time,' he thought happily as the guild came into view.

As the building grew closer, Naruto managed to pick out some of its details. The color scheme had shifted to something dark and creepy, and the sign in front of it read _Twilight Ogre. _'Did we move guild buildings or something?' He walked straight through the double doored entrance and found a multitude of unfamiliar faces there to meet him.

"Who the hell is the orange kid?" a voice yelled.

"Ha. Probably just some weakling who thinks he's strong enough to join us," another voice replied.

"Speaking of weaklings," said a man who had just stood up, "Where is Thibault? He should be back with payment from those little fairies already."

"Oh, he's right here," came a new voice from behind Naruto. "It looks like Fairy Tail has already paid all its 'debts' to this guild." Naruto turned to see an angry Erza and Mirajane standing in the doorway, a limp mage at their feet.

"Hey, Mira, don't you think they owe us payment?" Erza asked, grinning.

"Hmm. I think you're right," Mira replied, transforming into Satan Soul. "7 years of bullying our friends should amount to, I'd say, this guild building."

"W-what the? Who are they? Get them out of here!" Twilight's guild master commanded.

Naruto shook his head at the mayhem that would soon occur. 'They can handle this with no problem. I think I'll go take a look at what might be hiding in the guild master's office.' Naruto jumped across the room up to the balcony, and strolled into the office. "Bingo!" he said quietly to himself.

He turned around towards the office door upon hearing some heavy, frantic footsteps. "U-um, could you maybe give that to me?" the man asked fearfully.

"Give you what? This safe full of money?" He took on a contemplative look before speaking again. "Nah, this is ours now."

"T-that's illegal! My guild earned that mon-"

"It's funny you'd say that. This book is the record of who owns the building we're in right now. For some reason it still says _Fairy Tail._ That makes me think that you actually decided that it would be a good idea to steal our guild building from us."

"Fine! I'll just take it by force!" The man dove at Naruto in a poor attempt to tackle him. Naruto gripped the book tightly and hit him across his face, leaving him unconscious.

"That settles that." The teen picked the guild master up by the collar and dragged him downstairs to find that only Erza, Mira, and a few defeated mages remained. "You guys work fast," he said with a chuckle.

"We didn't have to do much. After we sent the first few flying, the rest ran." Erza explained. "Is that their guild master?"

"Yep. He was trying to get the safe upstairs, but it turns out that it legally belongs to Fairy Tail."

"I see. Well, we're finished here. We'll go let everyone know the news," Erza said.

Naruto nodded, walking out of the guild with the large man dragging at his heels. Naruto turned him in to the first guards he saw and returned to the guild.

The shinobi entered the guild to find that everyone had already moved everything into the more spacious guild building. He walked to Makarov who was seated in his usual spot on the counter, sipping a beer. "Yo, Master," he greeted.

"Well, actually, I'm not the master. Macao is," he said.

"Wrong again," Macao began. "I just retired, and I name Makarov Dreyar as the next guild master of Fairy Tail."

Makarov laughed. "Well, isn't this something. I've just set a record as the first person to be guild master of the same guild twice!" Everyone laughed and cheered, happy that the homey atmosphere had returned. "Now what was it you needed?" he asked, turning back to the blond standing beside him.

"I need my guild mark back," he said, grinning. "My hand doesn't look right without it."

Makarov's arm stretched out, allowing him to pat Naruto on the back. "Well, we'll have to see if you're strong enough to represent our name proudly before I can let you join," he said in a joking tone. The room burst into laughter, raising their morale even higher.

"Very funny," Naruto laughed as the stamp made contact with his palm.

"Look, guys, we've got a new member! Let's make him feel at home!" Gray yelled. Suddenly, Naruto was knocked to the ground then dogpiled on by a large number of people.

They all spent the rest of the day simply having a good time. Night fell, but no one went home. They all decided to sleep at the guild that night.

* * *

Things were calmer the next day, but it seemed that word had reached the masses that Fairy Tail's strongest members had returned, and a crowd had accumulated outside the guild. Everyone in the guild mingled about like usual, while Makarov and Macao spoke to each other exclusively.

"Well this is just great," Makarov complained.

"It was only a matter of time," Macao replied. "What do you think we should do? Just ignoring them probably won't have much effect."

Makarov rubbed his temples. The thought of having to explain their disappearance gave him a headache. "You're right. They want a story to bring back to their bosses."

Both men sat quietly in thought about how to handle the situation. Suddenly, Macao's eyes lit up. "I have the perfect idea! Do you remember what I told you about the Grand Magic Games?

* * *

Naruto and the mages around him watched as Makarov calmly walked towards the guild's entrance.

"Is he gonna say something to them?" one person asked.

"Shut up! I want to here what he says!" another mage yells. Silence filled the room as the old man pushed the double doors open.

The crowds of journalists in the street went still when the front doors of Fairy Tail opened wide. Makarov stepped out into the sunlight and cleared his throat. "I am aware that Fairy Tail has been last place in the Grand Magic Games for the past 7 years, but that drought ends now! I swear on my title as guild master that we will win the Games this year!" He then turned around, walked back into the guild, and took a seat on the counter.

Everyone, from the reporters, to the guild members, was stunned. The reporters erupted in excitement, the sound of their voices penetrating the walls of the guild, which was still silent.

"LET'S GO!" Natsu yelled. Everyone followed his lead, cheering and chanting.

"QUIET!" Makarov commanded. "Allow me to explain everything to any of you who may be unaware." He sipped from his mug and started again. "Former guild master Macao has informed me that Fairy Tail is ranked as last place of all guilds in Fiore. Winning the Grand Magic Games would put us back on top where we belong."

"Let's do it, then! There's no guild stronger than us!" Natsu declared.

"It's not that simple. We've been gone for 7 years," Erza started. "We're behind everyone else by a long shot." Natsu was about to protest when he remembered how he barely beat Max in a spar.

"That's right. We're currently at a major disadvantage," Makarov agreed. "You have about 3 months until the Games, so if you plan to participate, I suggest you start training. There is no guaranteed spot in team Fairy Tail. I'm picking those who progress the most."

It didn't take long for people to begin discussing their training. Others simply left to start training immediately.

"With 3 months, we might have a chance!" Wendy encouraged happily.

"Let's train like real men!" Elfman yelled.

Naruto sat quietly, planning what kind of training he could do for 3 months. 'I wouldn't say that I'm 7 years behind, since I was already a good ways ahead when I got here, but this is the perfect time to try that.'

'**Don't tell you're going to try to use magic,' **Kurama groaned.

'I don't have to tell you, you can hear my thoughts.'

'**I don't think that's a good idea.'**

'I've done it before with lacrima orbs and I'm not dead yet, so I'll be fine.' The blond stood was about to leave when Erza waved him over.

"Naruto, we're all going to the same place to train. It'll give us a chance to spar when we aren't training alone."

Naruto contemplated his decision. 'Train alone and make limited progress without anyone to test my limits against, or train in a group where I'll be able to give and receive constructive criticism, leading to an overall better experience.' "Sounds good."

"Alright, then. Meet us at the south gate of Magnolia in an hour." Naruto nodded and went on his way.

He went to a camping store and bought a large backpack that could carry lots of clothes. The blond bought a canteen and a knife. Then he went to search for clothes. 'I'm gonna go with my gut feeling and buy clothes that are appropriate for hot weather. Going farther up north would take a few days and they probably don't want to waste any time.' He filled his back with underwear, shorts and t-shirts of various colors. 'This should be enough. Perfect timing, too.' A short walk to the south gate reunited him with the others.

'Wow. I didn't expect all of them to be coming too,' Naruto thought, pleasantly surprised. Team Natsu, Juvia, Wendy, and Team Shadow Gear were waiting.

"Alright. Everyone's here. Let's get going," Erza said. The others watched with slight confusion when the redhead began jogging away. "What are you standing there for? Come on," she said, still jogging.

The rest of the group quickly fell in line behind Erza, following her lead. 'I see. She doesn't plan on a single moment being wasted.' Naruto kept pace with the rest of them, working up a nice sweat.

Some hours passed. They made some short stops for snacks and rehydration along the way. Now the sun was about to set, eliciting a little worry from some of the members.

"Don't worry, it's just ahead," Erza reassured. Sure enough, they emerged through the trees and found a white sanded beach laid out before them.

"We finally made it," Natsu said, catching his breath.

"You're tired? That was nothing," Happy teased.

"Says the flying cat," Naruto replied. 'I guess 7 years of sleep really did effect my stamina.'

"It's already late, so we're done for today." Everyone sighed in relief and went their separate ways to get ready for the night. Natsu started the fire and before long, everyone was gathered around.

Naruto sat next to Erza and spoke. "So are we gonna have some type of schedule for training?"

"Somewhat. I'm not going to make everyone train like I do, since everyone has something different to work on. Just because we're all here doesn't mean all the training has to be together."

"Training should be easy," Gray said, "considering the people we have here." Juvia nodded vehemently, not even comprehending what he said.

"Yes, that's why I chose this group and location. I have an idea of how each of us could train," Erza explained. "For example, the hot weather hinders Gray's ice magic slightly, so he'll have to work to overcome it."

"I get it," Wendy said. "So Natsu would practice in the water. You're pairing opposites."

Erza nodded. "Exactly. This group is perfect, since you and Natsu are here. You two could practice on collaboration techniques since wind makes flames grow. Your magic will be a very valuable asset to Fairy Tail." Wendy's eyes brightened at the praise.

"That makes sense," Naruto said, "But what about Lucy, and Team Shadow Gear?"

"Don't worry about us," Levy started, "My team trains pretty often, so we have everything we do set to benefit us the best."

"Same here," Lucy agreed. "I'm just gonna work on increasing my magic power, and my spirits' powers will increase as mine does."

Erza smiled. "It seems like the next 3 months will be a great help for us all. I'm going to sleep. I want to start early tomorrow." The others followed suit and slept.

* * *

Naruto was awoken by the noise of other's moving around him. He opened his eyes and saw that everyone else was packing their things to go train. Sitting up, he stretched, wiped his eyes, and stood. "What kind of training should we be doing today?"

"Well," Erza said as she stretched her legs, "I was planning on training alone, but you could come along if you want. Everyone else is already doing their own thing."

"I might as well. I was never good at coming up with my own training exercises anyway," he said, sitting down and stretching his legs in sync with her.

"I'll make this easier for us then. Do you have any end goal for this training? Are you trying to master something? I probably won't be a big help since you don't use magic."

"Well, actually," the blond began, shifting to his other leg, "I want to be able to use magic." Erza an eyebrow. "You know that form where my eyes turn orange?" The redhead nodded. Naruto put his feet together and reached for his toes. "I achieve that form by absorbing Natural Energy from around me, but this world has magic particles mixed in, which I have to filter out."

Erza thought for a moment. "That's a lot like how mages produce magic. Our bodies absorb the particles from the air. I think I remember you saying that your body forms its energy from the inside."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I've used magic once before to activate a lacrima, but I didn't use it for any techniques, and that's what I want to accomplish on this trip."

Erza swung her left leg over her right and twisted the opposite way, stretching her hip. "What kind of magic were you trying to learn?"

"Is there any way we could find out my affinity? I'd rather start somewhere where I'll have the most progress," he replied.

"I'm honestly not completely sure you'd even have an affinity, since your body doesn't naturally absorb magic particles. My guess would be to try a technique you already know, but instead of your chakra, use magic," she suggested.

Naruto nodded and crossed his legs, absorbing the energy around him. He felt the eternano that was mixed in with the nature energy and focused on it, only allowing it to pass into him. "Okay, I absorbed the magic. Here we go." He formed a cross symbol with his hands in an attempt to form a clone, but nothing happened. "Well that went better than expected," Naruto chuckled sarcastically.

Erza finished her stretches and requipped a book from her pocket dimension. She flipped through a few pages and began reading. "It says here that 'magic tends to select its wielder. If the mage's mind is weak, the magic will overtake them.' We were talking about affinities earlier, but in this context, an affinity is just whatever magic the mage can handle. In my case, it simply awakened one day."

Naruto sat back down and rested his chin on his fist. "So I have to wait until the magic gods chose me?"

"No, we can start with some simple magic. You already have quite the arsenal, so you don't need anything major anyway," Erza assured.

Naruto postured up. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Well," the girl began, "you could try thought projection to start."

"Alright, just tell me how."

* * *

2 hours passed and Naruto hadn't made any progress.

"Man, this sucks."

"Don't worry about it. It's only the first day. Remember that you've been using one type of energy all your life. Once you get this it'll be like riding a bike," Erza said encouragingly.

"I hope you're right." Naruto paused. Since this isn't working, you wanna work on something else? Is there anything you're trying to accomplish from this trip?"

"Apart from being strong enough to win the Games, no. I just want to sharpen my skills all around," she replied.

"Hmm. Well how about a quick spar? We can give each other pointers and go from there."

"I'm fine with that, but only if you use some sort of blade too," she replied, requipping her usual sword. "Is there any type of sword you prefer?"

"Um, just give me something short and light weight," he said. She tossed him a short, straight sword and they began. Erza went slower that she usually would, not sure of how skilled Naruto was with a blade. When she saw him handle her current speed accordingly, she turned it up a notch.

Their swords clashed, sending sparks into the air as the sounds of colliding metal filled the area. Erza knew that if she caught Naruto in a parry, she could break his sword under the pressure, so she pressed forward. Naruto adjusted, angling his sword so that they wouldn't stay locked for long.

"You won't avoid it for long," she said. "I've got a lot more gears in me."

"I don't mind a challenge," Naruto said grinning. He jumped in the air, avoiding another swing from Erza. "How about we stop holding back? Of course, I'll keep my word and still use a sword."

Erza smiled. "I'll make you wish you didn't say that." She dashed at Naruto at surprising speed. Naruto blocked her swing and kicked her away, immediately jumping after her. Being the master swordswoman she was, this had little effect. She dug her sword into the ground, slowing herself down. She grabbed Naruto's wrist and used his momentum to slam him into the ground. She drew her sword back and swung down at Naruto, who had no choice but to parry.

Naruto struggled against her. Her sword was heavier, and he was on his back. There way out except to beat her in this strength match.

'Wait! I could do that thing Asuma showed me!' The blond focused on pushing his chakra into his short sword. His blade became shrouded in a faint blue aura, cutting through Erza's sword slowly.

Erza pulled away and examined her sword. "You can sharpen things with your chakra?"

"Heh, yeah, but I'm really bad at it. If I was any good, I'd have cut through your sword like butter," he explained, standing back up.

Erza stared at the deep cut in her sword. 'This kind of thing would make shields and armor useless.' "Do you think it's possible with magic power instead?" she asked.

"I don't know," Naruto began, "but we've got 3 months to find out."

* * *

**Surprise! I'm back. Sorry about the delay. I was putting unnecessary pressure on myself to finish this story, which is why things were rushed in the last 2 chapters, but that won't be happening anymore. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Anticipation

Naruto woke up earlier than everyone else. The sun peeked over the horizon, its rays not yet covering the land. The blond yawned and stood, looking to get an early start. He walked towards the shoreline, wading into the shallow water. Naruto, now chest deep in water, took a big breath and sank below the surface, letting the cold current refresh his sore, groggy body.

'I'll figure out how to use magic,' he assured himself, still underwater. 'I won't let these three months go to waste.' With a new resolve, he planted his feet on the sand under him and jumped out of the water, landing lightly on its surface. His eyes lit up as a new idea cross his mind; he made his way to deeper water and sunk back down. The blond swam to the bottom, which was about 15 feet deep, and planted his feet, getting a wide stance. Looking up, he could see the water brightening as the sun rose. Another moment passed before he jumped, this time, with more force than before. He sped up towards the surface, but was unable to break completely through. His body had come out of the water, but only to his knees, before he sank back down.

"Naruto!" a voice called from the shore. The blond looked up to see Lucy waving out to him and began swimming to her.

"Hey, Lucy. What's up?"

"Everyone was wondering where you were. We've got breakfast ready, so you should probably come eat before Natsu eats it all," she explained.

"Good idea, but if he does get greedy, there's plenty of fish out there," Naruto said, pointing a thumb to the sea. "I'm sure Happy wouldn't mind some of that." The two teens laughed and walked back to the camp.

Everyone ate at a leisurely pace, except for Natsu, who was already impatient. "You guys are wasting time!" the dragon slayer said, crossing his arms.

"Calm down, flame brain," Gray jabbed, earning a glare from Natsu. "We've got plenty of time. Nobody here has a bottomless pit of a stomach."

"That's not completely true." Naruto said, revealing that he was already done eating. Gajeel had also finished his meal. "Since you guys are ready, let's go work."

"That's what I'm talkin' about. I never go to fight you either." Gajeel said, grinning.

Naruto turned back. "You sure you're ready? You can't even beat Natsu convincingly."

The iron mage's grin widened when he heard Naruto's remark. Natsu felt the slight rise in Gajeel's magic power and stepped in. "How about a three way sparring match?" he asked, placing his hand on Gajeel's shoulder. "It'd be a great warm up."

"Sounds good," Naruto said smiling. The three of them walked down the beach, not too far from the campsite.

Gajeel showed his approval of the location by sending a metal pillared punch at Naruto, which connected heavily. "Ha!" the teen yelled in triumph. "Keep you guard up, dumbass." His smile turned to a frown when he saw that Naruto had substituted himself with a clone.

The iron dragon slayer was suddenly blindsided by a fiery punch. "Don't forget about me!" Natsu yelled.

"Damn you! Get the hell out of my way!" he yelled back, running at the pink haired mage, who followed suit. While each of them ran, something reached from under the sand and grabbed their ankles, tripping them. Naruto crawled out of the sand and looked down at the two struggling teens.

"Come on guys. I thought this would be more fun," Naruto said. "I don't know if I should even take you two seriously," he added, feigning disinterest.

Natsu, anger filling his features, coated his body in flames. The fire was hot enough to melt the sand beneath him. The heat continued to spread as more and more sand took on a molten form. Gajeel coated his body in armor to withstand the high temperature.

The two dragon slayers stood and looked at Naruto with intense stares. "So," the metal mage began, "are you still gonna take us lightly?"

"Is this a two on one fight now?" His question was answered when each of his opponents released a breath attack. Their respective attacks merged as they grew closer to Naruto. 'That is not something I want to try to block,' he thought as the mass of partially molten metal hurdled towards him. He pumped chakra into his legs and jumped high into the air, clearing the attack by a large margin. His relief was short lived when a metal clad fist threatened to leave a dent in his face.

The shinobi managed to bring his arms up to block the attack, but the impact was still strong enough to send him flying to the ground, where the sandy shore welcomed him with a loud thud. "That'll teach him to mess with us," Natsu said to Gajeel. They watched as Naruto got up slowly, groaning in pain, rather, making a poor attempt to groan. Something so simply became impossible when there was an absence of air in the lungs.

Natsu and Gajeel ran to Naruto to check on his condition. When they were close enough, they were astounded to find that, despite the pain he felt, he was grinning.

"You guys," he spoke with great effort, "are a match made in heaven," he finished with a cough.

"That didn't sound weird at all," Gajeel said.

Naruto sat up, catching his breath. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you two work in perfect sync."

"Perfect sync? With this guy?" Natsu asked in disbelief. "I don't think so."

"The feeling's mutual," Gajeel said with a sideways glare.

Naruto stood and dusted himself off. His body protested his decision, pain shooting through him. "Anyways, I accept defeat. There's no reason for me to force myself right now. Besides, I'm sure everyone would want to hear about this.

* * *

Lunch time

* * *

"You lost to _them_?" Lucy asked with wide eyes.

"What can I say? They knew what they were doing," the blond replied. "It was crazy. They combined their Roar attacks to form lava. Try to imagine that coming at you."

"I'm sure you dodged it without a problem," Gray said, "so what did they do to land the final blow?"

"Well, when I jumped to dodge their attack, they were already preparing their next one," Naruto explained. "Gajeel turned his feel into solid metal slabs. When Natsu punched them, the added fire turned Gajeel into a rocket, launching him directly at me. You can probably guess what happened next."

The others looked at the two dragon slayers in astonishment.

"I'm not surprised. You two did defeat Laxus, of all people," Erza said. "Just one day of training has improve all of our abilities so much. Just imagine where we'll be in three months." The mages around her couldn't help but smile at how bright their future seemed. They continued to eat, discussing how each of them planned to improve, when a bright yellow light filled the area.

"Virgo? What are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meal, but I have a favor to ask of you all," the maid stated. "The celestial spirit world has been stricken by disaster."

"Say no more," Lucy said, grabbing Virgo's hands. "We'll help in any way we can!"

Virgo smiled widely. "Thank you so much. You are all so generous." In another bright flash of light, they whole group was gone.

Within seconds, they were all in an entirely new environment. Amazing and wondrous colors played at the senses of the Fairy Tail mages. They stood speechless, unable to find any would that could adequately describe the spectacle.

A large silhouette came into their view. "Welcome, my friends. I am the Celestial Spirit King."

"So you're the king?" Erza asked, able to shake off her astonishment quicker than her companions.

"Indeed, I am."

"So what's going on? Everything seems fine." Gray said.

The Spirit King smiled. "We brought you here to celebrate your release from the shackles of time!" The mages stared, not yet processing what he'd said. "In other words, enjoy the party!"

The rest of Lucy's celestial spirits came out of their hiding places to greet the mages.

"I can't believe this!" Lucy said, wiping away tears of joy.

"Well, it has been 7 years since you summoned them," Wendy remarked. "I'm sure they missed you!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

Naruto smiled at the scene, remember how things were back home.

'**Aww. That's cute.'**

'Don't act like you don't miss our old world.'

'**Oh, you're right. I really wish I had an Uchiha here to take control of me. There's nothing like having your chakra drained by a lesser being,' **Kurama said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

'Point taken. What did you bring me here for anyway? You never really make any comment unless it's something you think I should know.'

Kurama nodded. **'Your energy is still changing. It's nothing too major. The energy in this world is starting to mix with our chakra.'**

'That can't be a bad thing right? I absorbed the stuff with Sage Mode yesterday.'

'**I know, but it's slowly entering your body, even without your meditation.' **Naruto began listening more intently. **'I'm not sure how it'll affect you in the long run, but I've noticed that your abilities in your base form have increased as the magic to chakra ratio has increased in your body. The mixture has caused a slight bump in your speed and strength.'**

Naruto smiled. 'That's good, then. I thought you were about to tell me it was destroying my chakra network or something.'

'**That might not be an issue now, but we'll have to wait and see. The magic power is forming a secondary reservoir for energy in your body. Logically, it'll stop when the new container is equal to how much chakra you have.'**

'Hmm. With all the chakra I have, it'll probably take a while before they level out.'

'**Exactly.'**

The blond thought for a moment before speaking. 'What would happen if I force the new container to develop? I'd just have to absorb a bunch of magic into my body.'

'**That is an option. We'll worry about that later, though. I know you want to enjoy the festivities.'**

Naruto nodded. 'You're right about that.' He paused in thought. 'Why don't you join us? I'll create a clone with your raw chakra and you'll have some freedom for once.'

'**Hmph. That sounds interesting. I'd like to talk to that Spirit King.'**

Naruto grinned and proceeded to create a clone for Kurama to control. His red eyed counterpart looked around, taking in the visuals around him. **"I'd better make the conversation quick. All these colors are gonna make me vomit."**

"I'd expect you to say something depressing like that." The two of them went about their business. Naruto went to the others and enjoyed the rest of the day.

* * *

The bomb had been dropped. The worst case scenario had come true. The mages stared out to the sea, the dreadful words echoed in their minds:

"_One day in the Spirit World is three months on earth."_

"It's over," they said in unison. Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy fell face down, defeated. Naruto and Wendy sank to their knees. Naruto grabbed a handful of sand.

"Hey, look everybody," he said in monotone. "This is our training time." He then let the sand slipped through his fingers.

Natsu chuckled. "That was a good one, man," though, his features told another story. All the mages were still for another moment, then Erza stood.

"No. No! I won't give up!" she yelled. "Stand up! We have five days until the Games start. That means we just have to train 5 times harder!" The other mages reluctantly stood, hearing her out. "If we train past the point of exhaustion for five days straight, we should be able to make up for our lost time!"

Gray ran a hand through his hair. "I wish it was that easy. If we want any chance of catching up, we won't be able to sleep at all."

Erza frowned. Her idea was simply not applicable. "There has to be some way…" Suddenly, a bird landed on the girl's head, a note hanging from its head. She grabbed the slip of paper and read it. "It's an invitation to the broken bridge just west of here."

"That's a little suspicious, isn't it?" Levy asked.

"I don't think we should go," Carla suggested. "It's probably some trap."

"Well, we've got nothing to lose, right?" Gray said.

"Yeah," Natsu began. "We might as well check it out."

"Who knows? It could be Master gathering everyone together to announce who will represent the guild in the Games," Lucy said with some hope. The group began walking in the direction of the bridge, the depression of losing three months' worth of training time slowly becoming eclipsed by their curiosity.

After about a half a mile of walking, they finally reached the bridge. Three shadowed figures stood in front of them, completely silent and unmoving. Each Fairy Tail mage tried to match the magic energy of the three people in front of them, to no avail.

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" Erza asked as she requipped a sword.

"Please, put your sword away," said a male voice. Each of the Fairies' eyes widened when the strange trio removed their hoods, revealing their identities. "We aren't here to fight."

* * *

"That sounds like trying to grab a cloud, but we'll give it a try," Erza assured.

Ultear grinned. "This is a great help for us. Before you all go, I'd like to pay you in advance."

"Fish!" Happy exclaimed.

"Rent money!" Lucy said with bright eyes.

"No. None of that," Ultear said. "I'm going to use my Time Ark magic to develop the secondary magic container in your bodies. The Second Origin." The mages gasped. Their best opportunity to make up for their lost time was right in front of them in the form of a former enemy. "Though, I must warn you. The development process will cause excruciating pain."

"I'm in! No pain is gonna stop me!" Natsu said, pumping his fist. The rest of the group, some more reluctant than others, followed suit. They all followed Ultear to an old, abandoned cabin to begin.

"Prepare yourselves," she advised. Her green orb lit up the room, and seconds later, red runes covered all of their bodies. Each of them writhed in pain as the magic took effect.

Naruto panted heavily, trying his best not to scream his lungs out. 'Damn it! What kind of magic _is _this?' He could feel the battle between his chakra and the magic in his body raging. It was more painful than when the Nine Tails' chakra took over him and burned him on the inside and out. He looked towards Erza with a grimace. "How come you don't have to do this?" he asked, pain evident in the tone of his voice.

"My Second Origin is already developed," she replied.

'Lucky,' all the squirming mages thought in unison.

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning, his body still sore from the procedure. 'I must have passed out at some point yesterday.' He looked around and found himself alone in the cabin. Standing, he walked out of the exit and was greeted by his guild mates frolicking about the general area.

"Oh, Naruto! You're finally up!" Wendy said with a smile.

"Finally? Isn't it still morning?" he asked, confused.

"It's nearly noon," Gray said from a few feet away. "We've all been up for a while. You were still out cold."

The blond scratched his head. He didn't feel like he'd been out for that long. "That's weird. I usually recover from things way faster than this."

"I imagine it's because you aren't a mage to begin with," Levy said. "You've had one energy in your body for all your life, and now your body has to try to adapt to a new one."

Naruto thought for a moment. "I guess that makes sense, then." He yawned and stretched his sore muscles. "Anyways, wouldn't it be a good idea to start heading to Crocus for the Games?"

"We already have our train tickets," Lucy said. "Now that you're awake, we should just leave now." The others nodded in agreement and they were soon on their way.

* * *

Crocus

* * *

As the mages stepped off of the train, Makarov them via a communication lacrima, ordering then to meet him at the hotel that was provided to members of Fairy Tail. They moved quickly, despite being tired from the journey. Their anticipation for the games kept them energized.

The group arrived at the hotel. Makarov greeted them in the lobby and handed out their room keys. "I know that you're all tired from the long train ride," he said, wiping away some of his own grogginess, "so go to your rooms and get some rest." No one argued his logic. There was two rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls.

"I call dibs on the bed," Naruto said with a smirk.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Natsu shot back, starting to run ahead to the room. His progress was halted when Gajeel grabbed the teens scarf, pulling him to the ground.

"Calm down, stupid. I've stayed in this hotel before. They only have suites, so we won't have to worry about bed space."

Gray smiled. "That sounds good. Nothing like a huge bed that' as soft as a cloud."

The boys reached their room in a relatively short time. As they entered, a hulk of a man was there to greet them.

"Elfman? When did you get here?" Gray asked, dumbfounded. "And what _happened_ to you?"

The large man looked down at his friends with a wide smile. "I've been here since yesterday, because I'm a man!"

Naruto stared wide eyed at Elfman. 'He's freaking huge! What did he do during the three months of training?' "I can see that you didn't waste any of the last three months!" the blond said with a grin.

"That's right! A real man doesn't let opportunities go to waste!" The other teens smiled awkwardly, knowing in great detail what it felt like to lose time.

Things settled down as they each finished greeting each other.

* * *

Morning came quickly for everyone. Doing as Makarov said, they all went to his room first thing in the morning. He greeted them formally.

"I'm glad you are all here," he started. "I'm very proud of each and every one of you for wanting to represent our guild in the best way that you can. However, as you all know, I can only select five of you to compete in the Games." Everyone held their breath. They could feel how much their power had increased thanks to Ultear, and they were itching to push their new limits. "Luckily for you all, I have made the executive decision to form two Fairy Tail Teams!"

"Two teams? Isn't that against the rules or something?" Gray asked, trying to grasp the situation.

"Not in this case," Makarov explained. "The Grand Magic Games has to start with a qualifying round to determine who competes in the main event. The top eight teams will qualify for the Games, but, there is no rule against multiple teams per guild."

"Enough with the talking! Tell us who's on which team!" Natsu pleaded impatiently.

Makarov sighed. "Very well then. Fairy Tail Team A will consist of Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and Elfman as the Reserve member." The mages whose names were called heaved a breath of relief. "As for Team B, I've selected Gajeel, Mirajane, Laxus, Juvia, Naruto, and a special someone as the reserve member."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his last words but decided to pay it no mind. "Where is Laxus anyway?"

"He already knew about this. It was his idea to form a second team in the first place," the old man said.

"Knowing him, he'll probably show up last minute for the qualifying event tomorrow," Gajeel said with a chuckle. "And old man, what makes you think I even wanna be a part of some B team? I'm definitely storng enough to take someone's spot on the A team!"

Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose. 'They always complain.' "How about I give you all an incentive to compete, huh?" The dragon slayers eyes lit up. "Whoever scores higher in the Games gets to boss the other team around for a whole day."

Gajeel laughed loudly. "Now _that's _what I'm talkin' about!" Naruto grinned at his sudden burst of excitement.

Makarov cleared his throat. "Now, the qualifying round is tomorrow night. You have to have all five members of your team complete the challenge together. Use the time you have left to get focused, and stay out of trouble," he warned, directing his glance at Natsu.

"Fine, I'll chill out, I promise," he said, grinning sheepishly.

The mages all exited the room, looking forward to the next day. Feeling his stomach growl, Naruto decided to find a nice place that could satisfy his ramen craving. It took longer than he expected, since the city had changed so much since the last time he'd been there. The blond eventually stumbled across a suitable restaurant.

He took a seat at the bar and ordered his food, wolfing down the whole bowl. 'That hit the spot,' he thought as he left money for the meal.

Some time passed as Naruto wandered aimlessly around the city. He was astonished by Crocus' appearance. 'After all this time that's passed, nobody would even recognize me. It's not like I had any kind of reputation before what happened on Tenrou Island.' He could completely start over with how he wanted this world to perceive him. He could hide his origin from the public or let it lose for the magazines to gossip about. Hell, he could even change his name, and nobody outside of Fairy Tail would know the difference.

"_Lose the headband." _Naruto grinned as the words echoed in his mind. What did he still wear it for? His home in Konoha was long gone, and he'd accepted that returning there was 99% impossible. The shinobi untied the headband and held it in his hands, watching how the light reflected off of its metal plate. 'I'll figure out what to do with you later,' he thought, deciding to go back to the hotel for the night.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

Naruto waited calmly for all the members of Team B to gather. "Of course it's sparkly boy that's late," Gajeel growled.

The door grabbed their attention before it slowly creaked open. Behind it stood the man they'd just been criticizing: Laxus Dreyar. "Tell me again. Who's late?" he asked with a confident smirk.

"Tch. It's about damn time," the iron mage mumbled.

"Calm down. I'm sure Laxus has a good reason for being this late," MIrajane said, diffusing the situation.

"Well, if you must know," the lightning mage began, "I was training. "You all know me well enough to know that I want Fairy Tail to be at the top. I'll do everything in my power to ensure that we take back our throne as the top guild in Fiore!"

"Juvia is glad to see everyone here as well."

"Well, since we're all here now, I'd like to know who our reserve member is. The old man was keeping it a secret," Gajeel explained.

"Oh, don't worry about _him_. He'll be there when we need him," Laxus said, smiling widely. "The qualifier starts in about five minutes, so we should get ready."

And get ready they did. In five minutes time, the sky lit up with a large screen. A small, pumpkin headed character explained the game to them, although vaguely. When the explaining was done, the horn sounded, and the game began.

"That's it? A labrynth?" Naruto asked.

"Seems like it," Mirajane replied. "All we have to do is get to the center of it and we'll qualify.

"Right," Laxus said, nodding. "We're still the underdogs here, so let's get going. I don't want to slack off at all. Let's make people fear Fairy Tail's name again!"

The other Team B members shouted in approval and followed their "leader" into the labrynth.

* * *

**AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave any feedback!**


	12. Vendetta

The labyrinth floated in the sky over Crocus, visible from anywhere in the city. Many mage teams moved around inside it, trying to find its center.

Fairy Tail Team B looked around in a mix of awe and confusion at the scenery around them. They kept moving towards what they thought was the goal only to find themselves going in….circles? They couldn't be completely sure since the world seemed to warp as they went along. Up was down, down was left, et cetera.

The mages pressed on, moving towards any unfamiliar pathways. Of course, each time they made progress, the process started over again. "Juvia is getting frustrated," the water mage said, pouting.

"Same here," Naruto replied. "It almost seems like this maze is constantly changing."

"We haven't made any progress in a while. If we just run in expecting to find our way, we'll be wasting time." Mirajane said. "We'll keep ending up in the same place over and over again."

Naruto looked around at the labyrinth. "Could there be some kind of pattern? That might explain why we end up back here."

"It's possible," Laxus replied. "Make some of those trusty clones you have and get them to help us out." The shorter blond nodded and created about 20 clones. Each one chose a direction to explore and departed.

"Now we wait," Naruto said, putting his hands in his pockets.

* * *

"At this rate, we won't even qualify!" Natsu huffed. The rest of Team A stood around him. His words resonated with them. They had had no luck in making it to the end of the ever changing maze. "I can't even smell anything right now. First, Wendy went missing right before the challenge, and now this!" They all sighed in defeat. A moment of silence passed before Lucy gasped in realization.

"We can use Pyxis!" she exclaimed, a silver celestial spirit key in her hand. She revited her encantation and a moment later, the spirit in question had been summoned. "Lead us to the finish line, Pyxis!" The other members of the team watched as the compass of the spirit's head spun a few times before finally pointing in a direction. Pyxis began walking towards where the needle was pointing.

"So you had this the whole time and you _just _decided to use it?" Natsu asked, exasperated.

"That doesn't matter," Erza said. "We can finish this challenge now, thanks to Lucy's magic." The redhead began following Pyxis' lead. Everyone else followed suit.

* * *

"We've been running for a while now. Are you sure your clones knew what they were doing?" Laxus asked skeptically.

"Stop being so impatient. We should be in view of the finish right about…..now!" As the words left the blonds mouth, the group had rounded a corner and found themselves in a large open area where the finish line could be seen. Naruto flashed a wide smile at his teammates. They approached the finish line as a new presence confronted them.

A strange, short pumpkin headed creature greeted them. "Congratulations, Fairy Tail Team B! You've competed the qualifying round! When you go through this door, you'll be transported to a waiting area in the Domus Flau, where your rooms are waiting. If you have any more questions, just call for 'Mato' and I'll come running!" When he was done speaking, he disappeared from their sight, his laughter filling the air and eventually fading.

"What a character," Mirajane remarked.

"It gave me the creeps," Gajeel added, rubbing his neck.

"Anyway, let's go through. We wouldn't want some other team to pop up and get in ahead of us." The mages followed the words of their team leader and passed through the door.

* * *

Naruto woke up to a light hand pushing his shoulder. He opened his eyes and was greeted by a pair of blue eyes. "Wake up, Naruto," Mirajane said. "It's almost time for all the teams to be announced. Naruto groaned quietly as he got up and got ready.

"Why are they deciding to start so early? The sun is barely up!" Naruto complained as he ate his ramen.

"They've got to fill the stadium seats," Juvia explained.

"She's right," Laxus added. "This is the only bit of time that we'll have together as a team for the next few days."

"So nobody knows which teams made it through? What about Team A?" Naruto asked.

"Who knows," Gajeel shrugged. "I guess we'll found out soon enough." A knock on their door let them know that it was finally time to go. They were led to a tunnel that was connected to the arena. They listened to the announcer as he called out each team.

"Coming in eighth place in the Sky Labyrinth, Fairy Tail Team A!"

Gajeel laughed. "They actually made it, barely." They continued to listen as more teams were announced.

"In third place, we welcome Raven Tail!" Gajeel and Laxus stiffened when they heard that name, but they hid their surprise well. Naruto saw this but decided to push his curiosity aside.

"In place, which is sure to surprise everyone, Fairy Tail Team A!"

The mages walked from the tunnel. The sounds of the crowd grew extremely loud now that they were in direct view of them. They stood next to Team A. "How the hell did you guys get second place?" Natsu asked astounded.

"We're just better than you, noob," Gajeel teased. "I can't wait 'till we win this. You'll have to do what we say for a week."

"Yeah right! I don't care if we're in the same guild. You being on a different team makes you an enemy. It's on!"

The members of each team smiled at each other, excited for the Games they would be competing in. "May the best team win, then," Naruto said.

"And in first place, your favorite, the reigning champions, Sabertooth!"

The newly announced team walked from their tunnel. Natsu frowned at them, though his anger seemed to be directed at two members in particular.

"Natsu, I'm glad you made it," the blond mage said smiling. "Let's have a good time!"

"Yeah, sure," Natsu replied.

Naruto watched as tensions rose between the four mages. 'It seems like they're already getting into the spirit of things.'

"For the first event, let's begin 'Hidden'!" the announcer exclaimed.

"I'll go," Naruto said. "If hiding is how to win, then you guys can count on me." The rest of his team nodded in approval. The rest of the teams nominated their members to compete. Naruto looked over at Gray, who was also competing. He mouthed the word _truce. _To his relief, Gray nodded. This meant one less rival in the competition.

"Fairy…Tail." Naruto looked down at the strange, purple man from Raven Tail.

'What the hell is wrong with this guy?' Naruto ignored the deranged looking mage and focused for the near future.

All the mages who were not participating cleared out. Suddenly, the scenery around Naruto changed drastically. "Hidden: Land an attack on your enemy to earn a point. Lose a point by getting hit or hitting a decoy." After the words were spoken, a countdown from 10 started. As soon as the game started, Naruto dashed into an alley. 'I picked the perfect game to join. I'll try to find Gray first." He formed one clone and had it go to search, but he purposely made it walk in the open.

The clone's memories flooded into his brain, meaning that someone had dispelled it. He looked up at the scoreboard and was satisfied to see that he hadn't lost a point. 'So I was right to assume that when someone hits my clone they won't get a point.' He jumped up to the rooftops and went to where his clone was destroyed, searching for the culprit.

The blond narrowly dodged a punch from Nullpudding. He quickly countered with a kick, earning a point from the skirmish. He jumped back to the roof of the nearest building and created some more clones. They all went in different directions to lure out other mages. 'The crowd is probably booing the hell out of me right now, but they blocked off the sound from outside.' He laughed at the thought of the masses chanting _CHEATER._

Another surge of memories surprised Naruto. He grinned and immediately headed to where that clone was dispelled.

"What's up, Naruto."

"I see you found one of my clones, Gray," he chuckled. "Is our truce still valid?"

"If it wasn't, I'd have socked you by now," Gray laughed. "So how are we gonna do this?"

"Well, you already saw that hitting my clone does you no good. I'm thinking that I make more clones and have some of them transform into you. I'll make them walk together, and when someone attacks them, we jump in and get the points."

Gray gazed at his blond guild mate. "You can seem pretty dense at times, but you are truly a genius. I've got one suggestion, though." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Don't ever become evil or something." The two teens laughed and began their plan.

Naruto sent two clones out, one of them disguised as Gray. It didn't take long for someone to take the bait. Eve of Blue Pegasus struck the clones down, expecting to get two points. Gray swooped in and landed a quick blow on the mage, earning his first point.

Naruto jumped into action when Lyon tried to attack Gray. Naruto made it just in time to intercept the punch, scoring another point for himself. "Thanks for that. Lyon is out to get me."

"Why? You already know him?" Naruto asked.

"It's a long story, but we had the same teacher. He also loves Juvia, and he sees me as a barrier that's blocking him from getting to her."

"Hehe. Sound's familiar," he laughed, thinking back to his days with Team 7. The two teens continued their work, trading points until they occupied the top two spots on the board. They were interrupted by a bright beam of light racing towards them from above. 'I've got time, but not enough to dodge,' he thought, bringing his hands up. He formed a cross with his fingers and created a clone just in time to take the attack for him, preventing the attacker from getting the point. He glanced towards Gray, who managed to form an ice roof over himself.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked.

"There's no telling," Gray said looking up at the scoreboard. "That Rufus guy from Sabertooth just jumped to first. That had to be his magic."

"Jumped to first? Then he must've hit everyone with that one spell!" Naruto said, astounded. "I'm starting to understand why they've gotten first place the past few years."

"Yeah. We've gotta do something about him, though. We've only got," he paused, squinting at the timer, "no time left."

"GAME OVER," said a monotone voice. The event scenery disappeared and the mages were left standing in the open. The sounds of the crowd chanting _SABERTOOTH _over and over again filled Naruto's ears.

"Well, at least we got second and third place," Naruto said reassuringly.

"Yeah, but I can't believe he timed his magic perfectly so that no one would have time to counterattack," Gray said.

'That guy,' Naruto thought, looking at Rufus, 'reminds me of Shikamaru.' "It seems like his stunt completely overshadowed what we did."

"I prefer it that way," Gray replied. "It'll make our victory that much more worth it."

"Don't you mean _our _victory?" Naruto chuckled. They laughed it off and went to where their respective teams were waiting.

Naruto was given a very warm welcome by his teammates. "That was amazing, Naruto!" Mira exclaimed.

"Eh, it wasn't all that. I only got second place," he replied, grinning.

"Either way, we're second place. The crowd might be cheering for Sabertooth, but your performance didn't go unnoticed," Laxus said. "They'll be talking about this in the newspaper tonight."

Naruto grinned. "Well, let's give 'em some more to talk about in the next event."

"Lucky for us, we've got some time before any of us have to fight. We can watch the other guilds in their battles," Mirajane said, looking up at the matchups that the crowd had voted for. "Team A is fighting first against Raven Tail."

Laxus' eyes hardened, as did Gajeel's.

"Okay, I don't want to seem nosey," Naruto began, "but what's the relationship between our guild and theirs? You two always look tense when you hear their name."

Laxus sighed. "I don't know why you don't know this already, Naruto. To make a long story short, their guild master is my father, who was expelled by Gramps for his thirst for power."

"Not to mention that they were classified as a dark guild until just recently," Gajeel added. "How they got recognized as a light guild is beyond me, but I've got a feeling that their reason for being here isn't to win the Games."

"No kidding. That weird guy from their guild seemed to have it out for me and Gray during Hidden," Naruto replied.

* * *

The mages of Team B listened as Mato announced the first battle to the crowd, anticipating which members the two teams would send. Raven Tail was first to send a tribute.

A woman with long red hair and a dress to match walked out to the center of the stadium, a perpetually twisted expression on her face.

'Nobody from that guild seems normal,' Naruto thought, cringing. "I wonder who Team A will send," he said quietly to his teammates.

"Love Rival!" Juvia shouted loud enough for the whole crowd to hear when she saw Lucy walk out.

Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose. "No one's ever gonna take out guild seriously." The rest of the team laughed at his words. The tall blond couldn't help but grin. "Maybe that's for the best, though."

Naruto watched Lucy walk until she was about 20 feet from the woman who'd just been introduced as Flare Corona. 'Let's see how this goes,' the teen thought with excitement.

"Let the battle between Lucy Heartfilia and Flare Corona begin!" Almost immediately, both mages were moving. Flare's hair, which was already long, began moving on its own, intent to capture Lucy. The celestial spirit mage, however, quickly summoned Taurus, who swung his ax, stopping the onslaught in its tracks.

The crowd cheered loudly. The signs of an exciting battle were clear. The first one to make a mistake would be sure to lose. Lucy summoned Scorpio, who shot a blast of sand at Flare, whose fiery hair melted the sand on contact. The dust settled, revealing a glass replica of Scorpio's attack. The two women went back and forth, trying to gain an advantage.

Flare, realizing that her attacks were not landing, became visibly upset. Suddenly, her hair reached out, managing to ensnare Lucy. The red haired mage began speaking to Lucy, but her voice was too low for anyone to make out. When her mouth stopped moving, an expression of horror took over Lucy's face.

Before Lucy could speak, Flare's hair covered her mouth. Naruto watched in anger as Flare tortured Lucy, even threatening to brand her with Raven Tail's guild mark.

The unsightly behavior continued until Flare's eyes widened in fear.

"Now, Lucy!" Natsu's voice rang out.

Lucy managed to wrestle away from Flare's hair. "Urano Metria!" The spectactle that followed her words was nothing short of astounding. Planet seemed to orbit around the stadium and into Lucy, filling her with light. Just as she was about to release the energy at a cowering Flare, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Their cheating! Someone on their team has magic draining powers!" Gajeel growled.

"Something else happened too," Laxus said. "There's not much we can do, though. We'll have to let Gramps handle it."

Naruto clenched his teeth. "They better pray that they don't fight me. I'll make sure they-"

"No," Mirajane interrupted. "We can't stoop to their level. We have to avenge Lucy, but we have to do it fairly."

Naruto exhaled in frustration. "I know, I know. We won't let them get away with this." Naruto and Gajeel jumped down into the contest area and went to Lucy. Gray and Natsu had the same idea.

No words were spoken between the four. Their thoughts were in sync. Natsu picked Lucy up, not once looking up to the crowd. Naruto, Gray, and Gajeel, however, shot chilling glares at the Raven Tail guild.

Naruto and Gajeel quietly went back to where their team was waiting.

"We fight next, apparently," Gajeel said. "Who're we sending?" he asked, looking to Laxus.

The lightning mage smiled. "Remember that mystery reserve member?" Gajeel nodded. "That's who," Laxus said, pointing to the cloaked man standing in the contest area.

Naruto squinted at the man, trying to pick out any recognizable features. The ninja's jaw dropped. "What is Jellal doing here?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice low.

Laxus laughed at his reaction. "His plan is to monitor the area for any energy that's similar to Zeref's, and this is the only way for him to be in the stadium without getting arrested. It's a long story, but Jellal was technically a member of Fairy Tail, except not directly."

Naruto folded his arms. "All these 'long stories'. Why can't anything be straight forward?" he asked with a comical pout. "Anyways, who's the guy he's fighting? I've heard of him before."

"That's Jura," Mirajane began. "He's a Wizard Saint, meaning that he's one of the top ten strongest mage's in Fiore."

"Really? No offense to Jellal, but Natsu beat him. How can we expect him to be close to this Jura guy?"

Laxus chuckled. "You got here late, so I wouldn't expect you to know, but Jellal was a Wizard Saint too. Of course, it was part of his evil plans back then, but that says something about his skill, being so young."

Naruto grinned in excitement. "So two of the strongest mages here are about to go head to head? This is gonna be good!"

Everyone in the stadium waited anxiously for the battle to start. No one knew what to expect from the mysterious "Mystogan," or how he would compare to Jura Neekis, the Saint.

"Let the battle between Jura Neekis of Lamia Scale and Mystogan of Fairy Tail B begin!"

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed. Feel free to send me a message or leave a review with your feedback!  
**


	13. Moving on to Something New

**So, I've been gone for a long time. In all the time I've been gone, i realized that my motivation to continue this story is essentially gone. It's not because I wasn't getting good support from you guys, because the support was great. I just got bored with the story, and it hurt my writing. It made me rush my chapters and the pacing of the story suffered. As far as my plans for what to do with story, I don't know what the future may hold. I'm sure there are some authors out there who could do better than I did with the premise. If you are one of those authors, feel free to take my story in its entirety, or just some aspects of it, and transform it with your writing. I only ask that if you do use any of it, please PM me so I can read your story and see what you can do differently than me. **

**I don't want to quit writing completely. It's something I enjoy doing, and many of you seem to enjoy reading my work. I definitely want to start fresh, with a brand new story where I pace myself and the plot correctly and have a plan for which direction I want the plot to follow. I've had some interesting ideas, but nothing is set in stone. I'm pretty much a clean slate right now, so please, by all means, send me some possible suggestions that you would find interesting. I also want to change my pen name, so if you could help me out, that'd be great.  
**

**I can't say when this new project will make it out of my brain onto the page, but whenever that happens, just know that it will be better than my first attempt at writing, and that it will end with a real conclusion instead of an excuse. thank you so much for reading up to this point, and I'll see you all again at some point in the future.  
**


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